Should wealthy drivers pay higher fines for speeding? Many B.C. residents think so

An RCMP officer writes a speeding ticket during a speed enforcement campaign in May.

Most British Columbians would support a system of "progressive punishment" that forces wealthier drivers to pay stiffer penalties when they're caught speeding, according to a new survey.

The Research Co. poll found 69 per cent of B.C. residents in favour of issuing fines based on a driver's disposable income and how fast they were going.

That's slightly higher than the 65 per cent support recorded across Canada. When it comes to political leanings, pollsters found similar levels of support across all three major parties – though there were variations based on class.

"Canadians in the highest income bracket are decidedly more dissatisfied with the concept of progressive punishment for speeding tickets," Research Co. president Mario Canseco said in a news release.

"Opposition to this course of action among Canadians who live in households earning more than $100,000 a year reaches 34 per cent, 10 points higher than the national average."

Progressive punishments for speeders have already been implemented in Finland and Switzerland, and the idea sparked debate across B.C. earlier this year when a city councillor in the Vancouver Island community of Saanich put forward a motion calling on the province to consider such a system locally.

No one on council seconded Teale Phelps Bondaroff's motion, however.

Research Co.'s survey was conducted online from March 18 to 20 among 1,000 Canadian adults, and the results were statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region.

The survey's margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.