Speeding led recent enforcement with 358 tickets, alongside education and enforcement on underage e-bike and e-scooter riders and continued impaired driving patrols.

Richmond RCMP’s Road Safety Unit (RSU) kept its focus on high-risk driving through June, with speed, distraction, and impairment leading enforcement efforts across the city. Officers also increased their attention on underage riders using e-bikes and e-scooters.

June traffic violation tickets at a glance

• Speeding: 358
• Driver’s licence infractions: 164
• Distracted driving: 147
• Impaired (drug/alcohol): 31

Underage riders and e-bikes

RSU officers focused on underage e-bike and e-scooter riders through June, addressing issues such as riders under the legal age, riding on sidewalks, no helmet, and carrying passengers. Richmond RCMP is asking parents to review the rules for whatever their children are riding, and not to let them ride illegally. That conversation is better had at home than on the side of the road.

Micro-mobility enforcement is continuing through the summer. In one recent two-hour operation on the sidewalk at No. 3 Road and Ackroyd Road, officers dealt with 39 offences, most through warnings. Two files involved underage riders whose parents were called to collect them and their devices.

“We’re seeing more young people out on e-bikes and e-scooters this summer, and a lot of them don’t know the rules that apply to them,” said Cpl. Niels Hermes, Richmond RCMP Road Safety Unit. “We’d rather parents have that conversation at home rather than us having it on the side of the road.”

Improperly equipped Jeep, Highway 99

On June 8, an RSU officer stopped a Jeep on Highway 99 with its tires extending past the fenders and no mud flaps. The Jeep had been issued a Notice and Order Level 2 Inspection Order for this same issue in March and had not been repaired or inspected in the regulated amount of time. The driver was charged with operating an Improperly Equipped Vehicle, having No Mud Flaps, and Failing to Comply with a Notice and Order. The plates were seized and the Jeep was towed off the road.

Tires that extend past the body can strike people or objects, and without mud flaps, tire treads can throw rocks that damage other vehicles or injure riders.

Looking ahead: summer and impaired driving

Impaired driving remains a summer priority, with 31 impaired-related charges in June, and enforcement will continue though the season.

If you’re heading out this summer, plan how you’ll get home before you go: a designated driver, transit, a cab or a rideshare. There is never a good reason to get behind the wheel impaired.