A local woman is upset Prince George RCMP impounded the car of her out-of-town relatives after it was seen going through a school zone Thursday morning at more than 40 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Benita Kaytor agrees that's way too fast but said the only reason they were going that speed was because they were traveling along the Old Cariboo Highway while passing through the Prince George area.
She said her 79-year-old mother-in-law, who was behind the steering wheel at the time, obeyed signs requiring her to slow from 90 to 70 km/h but missed the signs warning of a school zone up ahead and was pulled over in the vicinity of Pineview elementary school.
The officer, a member of the detachment's municipal traffic services, not only issued her a ticket carrying a $200 fine but impounded the vehicle for seven days.
Kaytor's mother-in-law, cousin, his wife and a family friend - who were heading to Alberta for a graduation ceremony - found themselves standing on the side of the road with their luggage while their vehicle was towed away.
Given that they were from out of town, Kaytor contends the officer should have given them a break and limited the penalty to the speeding ticket.
"It just seemed absolutely inappropriate and without any compassion or discretion for the actual circumstances," Kaytor said.
"If it was a local person, I could understand but a family that's traveling through town, they have nowhere to go."
The officer did offer to call them a cab at their expense, "but where would they take a cab to? Luckily, they had me, a second cousin in town that they could call."
Cpl. Corey Eggen, who is in charge of the Prince George RCMP municipal traffic services, said RCMP use no discretion in instances of excessive speeding in school zones. He also noted that because the school is located alongside a highway, there are two signs in both directions warning of a school zone up ahead.
"There's an advisory sign there and there's a school sign," Eggen said. "What (would have) happened if there was a kid on the side of the road? Would they have not seen him as well?"
RCMP have been keeping a close eye on the stretch because they've received many complaints about speeders in that area.
"We're even having school buses calling in saying they're getting passed like they're standing still, and as far as municipal traffic goes, that's a concern," Eggen said.
Kaytor remained unconvinced when told of Eggen's response and the fact there are two warning signs heading into the zone.
"Apparently it's still not a very well recognized school zone and perhaps saying 'school zone' on a big sign with flashing lights would make it a little more obvious," Kaytor said.
"When it's a family from out of town, they're not trying to ignore the signs, they're not trying to speed and if it was a really well-marked school zone, they certainly wouldn't have been going that fast."
The group has since managed to arrange other transportation and have resumed their trip.
