Saanich Police catch driver tossing lit joint out of car window

One Vancouver Island driver was served a hefty fine Monday after Saanich Police caught them tossing a lit joint out of their car in Cordova Bay.

At approximately 9:53 a.m., police pulled over a vehicle in the 4900-block of Cordova Bay Road for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, the driver was spotted tossing a lit joint out of their car while moving and secondly they were found to have been speeding in a playground zone.

The driver was handed a hefty fine totalling $937; $575 for tossing the joint, $253 for speeding in a playground zone, and $109 for failing to change the address listed on their license.

See also:

• Saanich motorist issued $575 ticket after tossing lit cigarette from his vehicle
• 6 fires in Langford this past week have been caused by discarded cigarette butts

According to Saanich Police, the driver was not charged with impaired driving as they were found not to be impaired.

The officer who pulled the driver was a drug recognition expert who determined, “with confidence”, that the driver was not legally impaired.

Police say that the motorist could have been issued another ticket for consuming cannabis while driving, but the officer used their discretion and ticketed him for what they felt was appropriate at the time.

The nearly $1000 fine comes a week after Saanich PD Traffic’s most recent tweet, which encouraged the community to report drivers who threw lit cigarettes out of their car windows.

Last month, another negligent Saanich driver was also in for a hefty fine after they through a lit cigarette out of their car directly in front of VicPD’s Chief of Police.