The Trail RCMP is asking drivers to keep their cool in the coming weeks as roads become congested with tourists and their rigs.
“We get (road rage) calls regularly reported through the summer, not only in our area, but throughout the Kootenays,” Sgt. Mike Wicentowich told the Trail Times. “And what we are concerned with, is sometimes it escalates to violence and then people get into all this trouble over something very silly on the road.”
With campers, bikers, and tourists visiting the region over the summer months, Wicentowich reminds all commuters to drive defensively, give yourself extra time to get to your destination and remain patient with other drivers.
“There are campers, tourists, bikes and people all over the place right now,” he said. “We are just asking people to check themselves, realize that it’s going to take longer to get where you’re going. People may cut them off and do other things they don’t like so just keep cool, report it to the police, and we will do our best to deal with it.”
He says, with a witness statement, police can follow up reported traffic offences and possibly write a violation ticket under the Motor Vehicle Act, or if this isn’t applicable, issue a warning letter.
“We can issue a ticket based off their information,” Wicentowich added. “Or we can send out a warning letter, which is fairly typical. We usually send out a few of those each week.”
The “road rage” topic surfaced after the detachment reported on a recent case, although this situation involved two local men.
Shortly after 11 a.m. on Friday, July 5, police responded to the complaint of a “road rage” incident between a 45-year-old male and a 55-year-old male, both from Trail.
“One allegedly cut off the other with his vehicle while driving on Highway 3B, in Trail,” Wicentowich said. “The argument was verbal; however, RCMP were called to resolve the dispute between the drivers.”
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