Tickets aplenty were handed out in Saanich over the four-day long weekend as 118 drivers were slapped with fines.
The ticket breakdown included three immediate roadside prohibitions and one 24-hour driving suspension. The remaining ones were for violations such as cell phone use while driving, speeding and following too close.
“This number is surprising. It’s a lot,” said Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen. “I would’ve been surprised if we’d done 40 or 50, so this is huge.”
Comparatively speaking, during the Labour Day long weekend in 2010, which is typically the busiest summer weekend for police, Saanich handed out 63 tickets.
“We told the public that we would be out there and that if you got stopped you won’t be getting a warning. If you attract the attention of an officer, you’re likely to get a ticket,” Jantzen said.
Saanich police will have the same message of “tickets, not warnings, will be handed out” during the three remaining long weekends this summer.
“We step up enforcement on any long weekend, so it should come as no surprise to drivers that we’re out there,” Jantzen said. “We have a finite amount of resources but our traffic guys focus on the long weekends because, historically, they can sometimes be the most tragic.”
Police also responded to six accidents, none major. In two of the incidents, occupants of the vehicles sustained injuries.
kslavin@saanichnews.com