More than 30 drivers were ticketed on a Richmond stretch of Highway 99 after they were caught taking pictures of a flipped semi-truck.
Late on Monday night, a northbound semi rolled over near the Cambie Street overpass, causing, amongst other things, a major distraction for passing motorists.
And with drivers slowing to a crawl as they passed the crashed truck, many were spotted by police taking pictures with their cellphones.
Along with a neat picture to post on social media, many of the drivers in question also received a distracted driving fine of $167, along with three demerit points.
Sgt. Lorne Lecker, of the RCMP’s Deas Island Traffic Services, said he’s not sure whether the drivers are trying to win a Pulitzer or get famous on YouTube.
“Whenever there’s a major crash scene, there they go, driving by with their phones held high in the air, pointing right at us; it’s not at all subtle,” said Lecker.
“But what they maybe don’t realize is, at these major crashes, once the victims have been dealt with, the scene is secure and the road’s open again, there’s a lot of waiting around for tow trucks and crash analysts.
“So, we make good use of that time by ticketing (distracted drivers).”
Lecker explained that, in the case of Monday night’s crash, the passing traffic was going “nice and slow” with an opposite southbound lane — closed for safety — providing a perfect place to pull the offending motorists aside.
“It was tailor-made, to be honest,” he added.
“This is about safety, though, as every officer attending a crash scene knows that horrible sound of brakes screeching and then…”
Lecker also warned drivers, if they’re not careful, they could be hit with another $368 fine and six points for driving without due care and attention.
“Our concern is secondary crashes,” Lecker said. “We have a large number of secondary crashes.
“We are trying to clean the main crash up and, at the same time, we have a second and a third crash because people rear-end the car ahead of them because it is stop-and-go traffic, and they are looking at their phones.”
Lecker said people think it’s OK to use their phone in such circumstances because the traffic is moving slowly, but, he said, it’s actually more dangerous because the flow is less predictable.
