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Police busy over weekend |
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Written by Citizen staff
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Friday, 16 May 2008 |
Police will be out in force this Victoria Day long weekend keeping an eye out for speeders and other types of dangerous drivers.
Upwards of a dozen patrols cars will be setting up roadblocks around the city this weekend to conduct seatbelt checks and catch impaired drivers.
And the general public is being encouraged to join the effort by calling 911 if they encounter an erratic driver, "because we'll have those extra units out there to respond to those calls," said Sgt. Pat McTiernan.
Because it's the first long weekend of the summer, the Victoria Day long weekend is consider one of the most dangerous times of the year.
Over the last five years, there has been an average 16 crashes and six collision-related injuries over the three-day weekend in Prince George according to numbers from ICBC.
For the north central region, those numbers grow to 100 crashes and 20 injuries and for the province as a whole, the totals are 1,600 crashes, 530 injuries and four deaths. Moreover, the cost of those mishaps worked out to more than $14 million in claims.
A media event to announce the stepped up enforcement was held Friday morning at Highway 16 and Domano-Tyner Boulevard, rated the city's worst intersection for motor vehicle incidents. Prince George RCMP Sgt. Guy Tremblay said the intersection will get special attention as part of an effort to keep the number of incidents there on a downward trend.
During the first nine months of 2007, there were 36 incidents and 12 injuries, compared to 46 incidents and 17 injuries over the same period in 2006. For the city as a whole, there have been 374 crashes in 2007-08, down 14 per cent from 436 in 2006-07.
Over 40 per cent of crashes occur at intersections, ICBC says.
Police will be joined by community policing volunteers who will be manning a speed display board to let drivers know if they're going too fast.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 May 2008 )
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