On Nov. 19th, a Traffic Safety Officer observed a truck following an ambulance responding to an emergency to avoid traffic.
On Saturday afternoon, Nov. 19th, 2011, just before 6pm a Saanich Police Traffic Safety Unit officer was monitoring traffic in the 100 block of the Trans Canada hwy at Uptown Center. The officer observed a BC Ambulance travelling northbound with emergency lights and siren.
Following closely behind the ambulance, the officer observed a gray Ford pickup also travelling at the same speed as the ambulance. The officer used a laser speed measuring device and determined that the driver was doing 95km per hour in a 50 kph zone.
The driver was stopped and admitted to following the ambulance to try and get through heavy traffic quicker. The 25 year old Colwood resident was issued a violation ticket for $368 and the truck was impounded for 7 days.
“Following any emergency vehicle in this manner is not acceptable driving behaviour,” says Sgt. Dean Jantzen. Saanich Police work closely with other emergency services to address dangerous driving behaviour like this. Saanich Police encourage local emergency services that if they see dangerous driving behaviour to note the plates and the Traffic Safety Unit will conduct an investigation.
11-24981