THE TIMES TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012
A7
Blitz nabbed dozens
Expect checks at top 5 crash locations
N O I T A C O L N O I S S I M W NE
ROCHELLE BAKER RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
D
istracted drivers were handed more than 40 tickets during an Abbotsford Police traffic blitz last week. Officers targeted the intersection of Mt. Lehman and Fraser Highway on Wednesday and nabbed drivers for various traffic offences as part of an ongoing campaign by the APD to focus on areas in the city statistically identified as high crash zones. Police issued more than 44 tickets for violations including speeding, disobeying red lights and using cell phones while driving. Two suspects were also arrested, one for prohibited driving and one for assault, and one vehicle was impounded. The traffic blitz is about reducing injuries and death, said Sgt. Casey Vinet. “Too many people have been killed or seriously injured in what we believe are all preventable collisions,” said Vinet. There were 13 traffic-related deaths in 2010 and four in 2011, but the APD would
– ROCHELLE BAKER/TIMES
An Abbotsford police officer talks with the driver of a vehicle stopped during a traffic enforcement blitz on Wednesday. like to see than number drop to zero. One of the APD’s 2012 goals is to reduce traffic-related injuries by 25 per cent. The use of cell phones by drivers remains a serious problem despite laws prohibiting it, said Vinet. “In some cases officers have gone right up to vehicles and found the driver was totally unaware a police officer was standing only feet away because they were so distracted with their cell phones,” he said. During the traffic blitzes the officers will be employing Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology, installed in specific police vehicles, which detects stolen licence plates and vehicles,
prohibited drivers and uninsured vehicles. The traffic enforcement campaign will continue for the remainder of the year and blitzes will be conducted in the top five crash locations: ■ Lonzo Road and Sumas Way ■ Mt. Lehman on- and offramps for Highway 1 ■ King Road and McCallum Road on- and off-ramps ■ Marshall Road and Sumas Way ■ Clearbrook Road on- and off-ramps
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