A reckless driver caught speeding on the Pat Bay Highway near the Royal Oak Drive exit last month is now out hundreds of dollars, according to Saanich Police.
“It was a very dangerous maneuver, and it looked as though the driver was doing it on purpose, for whatever reason,” Sgt. Damian Kowalewich told Victoria Buzz.
He’s recalling dashcam footage from April 22nd at around 2 p.m., showing the driver of a black sedan weaving between other vehicles and passing a truck via the highway’s shoulder.
The footage, quickly posted to social media and sent to police, also briefly shows a second driver who wasn’t driving as reckless at the time of the video.
“The individual noticed two vehicles appeared to be driving at a high rate of speed, almost striking another vehicle,” said Kowalewich.
“This is an instance where we were able to follow up because of a witness providing us dashcam footage. We’re always happy to follow up with these types of incidents.”
Kowalewich says Saanich PD’s Traffic Safety Unit investigated the footage and tracked down the shoulder-passing driver, later issuing a violation ticket under BC’s Motor Vehicle Act for driving without due care.
That means the driver is facing a $368 fine, plus six penalty points on their license, according to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).
It comes as ICBC and police across BC gear up to launch a month-long campaign to warn drivers that driving too fast can have tragic consequences, even in ideal road conditions.
On Vancouver Island specifically, data finds an average of 25 speed-related crashes causing injury or death occur now through summer.
Reflecting on these alarming stats, Kowalewich says police are glad no injuries stemmed from last month’s incident on the Pat Bay.
“There’s never a good reason to speed and put others at risk on the roads. Anything requiring speeding or getting to a location quicker really needs to involve emergency services,” he added.
“Drive defensively, plan ahead, leave early and respect each other on the road so that we can all get to where we need to go safely.”
