Delta police have released a video showing a speeding vehicle narrowly missing an officer conducting a traffic stop.
The video, shot on Monday, Sept. 30, shows a car weaving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed. The vehicle moves into a right turn lane to bypass traffic, nearly clipping a Delta police officer and the vehicle he had pulled over.
Another driver, concerned by what he had witnessed, happened to catch the incident on his dash cam and turned the video over to the Delta Police Department.
According a press release accompanying the footage, the officer never got a look at the driver but felt the wind at his back as the driver narrowly avoided colliding with both his vehicle and him. The officer’s unmarked car had its red and blue flashing lights activated during the stop, though the low quality of the video deosn’t capture the lights well.
“Our officers were able to isolate the licence plate of the car in question from the video, and the officer who was nearly struck decided to pay a visit in person with the registered owner of the vehicle,” Acting-Inspector Ryan Hall, who oversees DPD’s traffic unit, said in press release.
The registered owner, who lives in Delta, received a $368 ticket for driving without due care and attention, however because the driver is unidentified, the ticket does not comes with its typical six points.
“This type of driving behaviour is so reckless,” Hall said. “This is exactly how fatal collisions happen. Less than a second of difference and we could have had a significantly different outcome. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. It takes just one person, with selfish or unthinking driving behaviour, to cause unbelievable carnage and pain. We would also ask people to slow down and move to the opposite lane as dictated in the Motor Vehicle Act for their and the officers’ safety.”
Motorists in B.C. are required to slow down and move over for all vehicles stopped alongside the road that have flashing red, blue or yellow lights. This includes first responders, maintenance workers, tow trucks, Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement personnel, land surveyors, animal control workers, garbage collectors and other roadside workers.
To learn more about the Slow Down, Move Over law, head to www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/slow-down-move-over.
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