Nanaimo BC CANADA
RCMP crack down on motorcycle mischief
Times Colonist April 30, 2011
Pull a wheelie or burn rubber and the Nanaimo RCMP aims to cool your jets.
Officers will be cracking down on all aspects of vehicle misuse during a yearlong safety project.
The RCMP cited statistics showing that 25 per cent of road deaths in the Nanaimo area last year involved motorcycles.
Motorcyclists can expect to be pulled over for brief inspections, the RCMP said.
Anyone caught driving more than 40 kilometres per hour over the speed limit or doing wheelies and other illegal manoeuvres can be fined $368 and have their motorcycles impounded for a week, police said.
Officers also will be using sound-level meters to monitor muffler noise from motorcycles.
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After someone spoke to there MLA
A plan by Nanaimo RCMP to target motorcyclists and pull them over for spot inspections is "dead wrong," says the province's transportation minister.
Blair Lekstrom, an avid motorcycle rider, took aim at the Nanaimo plan while announcing motorcycle safety awareness month at the legislature Thursday.
"I would think if they are pulling you over just because you're on a motorcycle, that's dead-wrong in my mind," said Lekstrom.
"Two-thirds of . accidents where motorcycles are involved are caused by the driver of the vehicle."
Nanaimo RCMP announced last week that motorcyclists can expect to be pulled over for brief inspections by police as part of a year-long enforcement campaign targeting motorcycle safety.
As many as 25 per cent of road deaths in Nanaimo last year involved motorcycles, police said. Officers also will check the noise emitted by motorcycle mufflers to ensure they don't exceed the 91-decibel limit.
Motorcycle enthusiasts are already calling the campaign unfair.
"I don't think it's right that anybody should be pulled over randomly because of the mode of transportation they choose," said Adele Tompkins, executive director of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists. "It's discrimination."
The Nanaimo RCMP statistics don't mean much, she said. "If 25 per cent of the accidents are our fault, well, the other 75 per cent are somebody else's. ... So why is it always the negative on the motorcyclists? They never ever want to look at the car driver."
Nanaimo RCMP Cpl. Gary O'Brien said the enforcement campaign is no different from frequent projects that focus on commercial vehicles, drinking and driving, or the use of cellphones while driving.
"We never do random checks," he said. Police want to check motorcycle licences, helmets and noise issues on the bikes.
Tompkins and dozens of motorcyclists gathered at the legislature Thursday for an annual event in which they provide rides around the grounds for MLAs.
Among the politicians who participated were NDP leader Adrian Dix, Health Minister Mike de Jong and Solicitor General Shirley Bond. Bond, the province's top cop, refused to wade into the Nanaimo debate.
"I don't want to comment on the strategy of the Nanaimo police department until I have a chance to talk to them about their rationale," she said.
The motorcycle coalition said it plans to raise issues of increased police enforcement with provincial officials like Bond.
"In the past year we have been, in my opinion, targeted more than ever," Tompkins said. "It will come on the table."
Bond said she's prepared to have that discussion.
"We'll talk about the issues they are concerned about in terms of police enforcement. But I also want to talk to the RCMP and municipal police forces about their view on that," she said.
rfshaw@timescolonist.com
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Motorcyclist+inspection+plan+dead+wrong+Lekstrom+says/4738254/story.html#ixzz1Lmukz4bw
