Metro Vancouver Transit Police hand out 268 tickets for driving in bus lanes during crackdown
Metro Vancouver Transit Police say they handed out 334 tickets to drivers across the region during a four-day crackdown on misuse of bus lanes.
While 268 of the tickets were for violating bus lane rules, 66 were for other offences, such as distracted driving, driving without a licence and speeding. Two impaired drivers were also taken off the road.
The force says the project came in response to complaints from the public and bus drivers that vehicles were using bus-only lanes to get past traffic.
The enforcement took place on four non-consecutive weekdays over a period of two weeks in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond and Pitt Meadows.
On the first day, in Surrey and Delta, police handed out 89 tickets. Day two and three were dedicated to Vancouver and 211 tickets were issued. In Richmond and Pitt Meadows on the fourth day police gave out 34 tickets. Police did not provide a breakdown of how many of the tickets in each city were for bus lane misuse versus other offences.
“We took two impaired drivers off the road during the peak commuting times on a Thursday. Their removal not only makes other drivers on the road safer, but it keeps people making their way to and from transit and waiting at bus stops safer,” said Sgt. Steve Newton in a Thursday news release. “In addition to keeping transit vehicles moving, safety is always a goal when we enforce proper use of bus lanes.”
A ticket for driving in the bus lane is $109, but it does not come with points on a driver’s license.
A diamond symbol on the road or a sign indicates a reserved lane, which is sometimes an HOV lane, but could be a bus lane. Overhead signs indicate which vehicles are allowed in the lane and when.
Unauthorized drivers may use the lane to make turns, provided they do not enter the lane until halfway into a block – and do not proceed straight through an intersection.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ben Miljure
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
If you qualify for this tax credit, you can expect a payment in your bank account this week
The next quarterly GST/HST tax credit payment is expected to go out this week, according to the Canada Revenue Agency.
Fire at gas metering station sparks grass fire that shut Alberta highway
Yellowhead County in west-central Alberta says a fire that prompted the closure of a major highway west of Edmonton involved a gas metering station.
These ultraprocessed foods may shorten your life, study says
Eating higher levels of ultraprocessed food may shorten lifespans by more than 10 per cent, according to a new, unpublished study of over 500,000 people whom researchers followed for nearly three decades.
Eddie Murphy is still stung by that David Spade joke on 'Saturday Night Live'
Eddie Murphy is reflecting on some of the “cheap shots” he feels he’s taken over the years.
Judge calls Jeffrey Epstein 'most infamous pedophile in American history' as he releases transcripts
A Florida judge released Monday afternoon the transcripts of a 2006 grand jury investigation that looked into sex trafficking and rape allegations made against the late millionaire and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts
The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for any actions that were within his constitutional powers as president, but can for private acts, in a landmark ruling recognizing for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.
This 12-year-old memorized the periodic table at age two. He's heading to NYU after finishing high school in just two years
Recent high school graduate Suborno Isaac Bari, 12, plans to start studying math and physics at New York University in the fall, but he’s already got his ambitious sights set on beginning a doctoral program.
Possible indecent gesture at Euro 2024 game under investigation
England star Jude Bellingham is being investigated by UEFA over a potentially offensive gesture made during a European Championship win against Slovakia.
Woman faces charge of trying to smuggle turtles across Vermont lake to Canada by kayak
Border Patrol agents says a woman from China has been arrested at a Vermont lake bordering Quebec for trying to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada by kayak.