Trying to ‘save on gas’ is no excuse for speeding, as one driver has learned the hard way.
The BC Highway Patrol says a 36-year-old Edmonton man was recorded going 136 km/h in a 100 zone on Highway 97C on Aug. 16.
When officers pulled him over, the man said he was speeding because he was nearly out of gas.
“I suppose the logic was that, by going faster, the driver could get to a gas station more quickly,” Corp. Michael McLaughlin told 1130 NewsRadio.
“But going fast is a sure way to blow through a lot of gasoline.”
In fact, McLaughlin said, the minivan ran out of gas as they were speaking to the man.
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The officer at the scene then noticed there were nine people in the eight-seat minivan.
“That’s a problem,” McLaughlin said.
“Seven of those people weren’t wearing seat belts. One of them should have been in a car seat, but the car seat had no buckles.”
He says it is up to all adult passengers to wear their seatbelts.
“So if an officer catches you without a seatbelt, you are the one paying that ticket,” he said.
“If you are the driver and you’ve got kids who are underage or in car seats, you will be responsible for not having that child properly secured.”
The driver was issued nearly $500 in tickets for speeding, permitting a passenger without a seatbelt, and having a child improperly restrained.
Three of the unbuckled passengers were issued tickets for failing to wear a seatbelt.
In addition, the driver had to pay for a taxi to come bring a jerry can full of fuel to the minivan and to take away the extra passenger.
McLaughlin reminds drivers there are many reasons to slow down.
“You will very likely avoid police attention, and you will be much safer,” he said.
“If you get into a collision at high speed, every person who is not wearing a seatbelt will die. You do not want that on your conscience.”