B.C. mayor says stricter penalties for out-of-province drivers needed on Highway 5

The mayor of a city in central B.C. is speaking out about a lack of traffic enforcement along Highway 5 and says out-of-province drivers are part of the problem.

The mayor of Barriere, B.C., which is about 45 minutes north of Kamloops, told Global News that private and commercial drivers from Alberta do not always recognize the risks in areas that locals know are dangerous.

In the last three weeks, there have been two fatal crashes north of Barriere, just south of Little Fort. Three people were killed in a crash south of Barriere, followed by another in Rayleigh, totalling four fatalities in just a 50-kilometre stretch along Highway 5.

When Alberta licence holders are handed a ticket in B.C., nothing requires them to pay that fine as the province does not have an interprovincial agreement with Alberta to enforce traffic penalties.

“It’s unfortunate that not only we do not have an inter-provincial agreement, but there is no way for us to be able to enforce our traffic laws at all there,” Barriere Mayor Ward Stamer told Global News.

“All we can do is if it’s 40 kilometres over the speed limit, we can seize the vehicle if they’re in a crash or if they’re impaired. That’s the only three things that the RCMP or the CVSE (Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement) can do. Yes, the CVSE can do more things with commercial drivers, but they certainly can do it with private drivers.”

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Stamer said he would like to see more drivers be held accountable under the laws of British Columbia.

“We have a significant issue with out-of-province drivers where they can they can drive aggressively, they can speed,” he added. “And we have no way of penalizing them. They don’t get points, they don’t get fines. And it’s very frustrating for all of the people that live in the valley when we see these type of drivers and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Vancouver criminal lawyer Kyla Lee told Global News that if an Alberta driver is ticketed in B.C. there is no mechanism to force them to pay.

“Unless you have a driver’s licence or insurance in British Columbia, if you owe money for a traffic ticket, there’s nothing that the government does to you to try and collect that money so you won’t be sent to collections,” she said.

“It’s not going to be something that ends up causing you to get arrested for owing money to the government. It just sits out there as a fine payable and no enforcement action is taken.”

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Lee said that even if someone is found to be driving again in B.C. after receiving a ticket as a driver with Alberta plates, that person still cannot be forced to pull over and pay the ticket or investigated due to an outstanding traffic fine.

“Some provinces in Canada do issue warrants for unpaid traffic tickets and do have a mechanism to force people to pay,” she said. “But we don’t do that here in British Columbia.”

Lee added that Alberta and B.C. do have the ability to agree to reflect convictions or traffic fines in other provinces but B.C. does not currently do that.

“So if you get a ticket in B.C., it doesn’t go on your Alberta driving record and Alberta has no ability to enforce the mechanism to pay,” she said.

“And, similarly, if you get a ticket in Alberta as a B.C. driver, you don’t face any consequences in British Columbia as a result of it.”

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In a statement to Global News, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said he has heard from several mayors about out-of-province driving tickets.

“I am committed to working on a solution. An infraction is an infraction – just because you live in another province doesn’t mean you don’t face the consequences when you break the rules of the road,” Farnworth said.

Lee recommends that if someone receives a traffic ticket in B.C. it is better to pay it and deal with the consequences right away.

“Because while you may not have any immediate plans to move to B.C., if your plans change or if something happens, you have to come to B.C. and you want to be able to drive lawfully here, you need to make sure that you’re complying with our laws and you don’t want to create any potential hiccups for yourself in the future.”

For now, Stamer would like to see increased enforcement from RCMP and CVSE, along with more maintenance along Highway 5.

He would also like to see a way to hold out-of-province drivers, who break the law in B.C., accountable.