A Regina driver who took a nap while waiting for a train to pass was awakened with sirens blaring and a ticket.
Const. Mike Seel, an officer with Regina Police Service’s Traffic Safety Unit, tweeted the incident from his social media account on Friday.
The officer said he was stopped on Ring Road for a passing train. When the train passed and the lights stopped flashing, Seel’s lane still wasn’t moving. Traffic was blocked for about 15 seconds, which Seel described as dangerous.
He said he pulled up beside the vehicle that was holding up traffic and found the driver asleep.
Seel woke the driver by “turning my lights and sirens on.” The driver was then issued a $280 ticket for driving without due care and attention.
Those on social media were quick to debate the issue.
“To be fair if it was the train crossing the Ring Road, can he be blamed,” one person tweeted. “We know how long of a delay that can take!”
Another person tweeted that the ticket seemed “harsh” when “a simple honk would have had him on his way.”
Seel followed up his original tweet asking critics if it would be OK for a driver to be passed out from drugs or alcohol.
“Should he be given a break since he wasn’t moving,” asked Steel.
Comments