A file photo showing snowfall on the Okanagan Connector. (File)

Okanagan Mounties turn travellers back, issue several tickets on Highway 97C

RCMP spent a day last week checking more than 200 vehicles on the Okanagan Connector

  • Feb. 15, 2021 12:00 a.m.

West Kelowna RCMP checked more than 200 vehicles travelling west on the Okanagan Connector last week, finding many of them unfit for the mountain roads.

Local Mounties teamed up with officers from Commercial Vehicle Enhanced Safety Enforcement, spending Feb. 10 inspecting vehicles near the Paradise Valley turnaround on Highway 97C.

Officers issued several tickets, including violations for brake issues, not having a driver’s licence and driving contrary to conditions.

Twenty-one vehicles were also sent back into the valley for tire-related violations, such as worn-out or bald tires and lack of winter tires, a requirement for driving on the connector.

“Our mountain passes can be extremely dangerous places to travel through in the winter,” said Staff-Sgt. Duncan Dixon of the West Kelowna RCMP. “Not ensuring that your vehicle is road safe puts yourself, your passengers and everyone around you at risk.”

READ MORE: Two die in Highway 1 crash near Kamloops

READ MORE: Cold weather ends, but snow expected throughout the week in Kelowna

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Vernon Morning Star