Motorists and pedestrians soon to be under a watchful eye

Rupertites may soon start singing the old 1980’s pop song “Somebody’s watching me", as the summer months begin the Integrated Road Safety Unit is preparing to become more proactive in the cause of road safety around the city.

The details of the unit’s plans for increased law enforcement of both motorists and pedestrians were outlined in the Northern View this week.

RCMP ready to get creative with traffic enforcement
The Northern View
May 23

The Prince Rupert RCMP are preparing to crackdown on unsafe driving behaviour, and Constable Steve Richards says that people can expect the unexpected from the Integrated Road Safety Unity as the summer months get underway.

“It could be anything from unmarked vehicles to plain clothed officers walking along the road identifying vehicles and reporting them to a nearby patrol car to plain clothed officers standing at an intersection and reporting vehicles to a nearby car to plain clothes officers looking for people not wearing their seat belts,” he said.

“They are up for anything, and they are only limited by their imagination. This is a heads up to the public that it will not only be the traditional means of looking for unsafe driving.”

And while he said people in vehicles will be looked at for their unsafe behaviour, people on the streets should also be more careful.

“One issue in Prince Rupert is pedestrian traffic. We will be looking not only for vehicles not slowing down or stopping for pedestrians, but also for pedestrians not watching for traffic or crossing on unmarked crossings and jaywalking.”

As of May 14, the fine for not wearing a seat belt increased from $138 to $167 and the fine for operating a vehicle with more people than seat belts was set at $311.