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Abbotsford Police 'astonished' at number of speeders

Officers issue 60 tickets, 41 of them for speeding, during a two-hour blitz along Maclure Road on Tuesday afternoon.
44261abbotsfordTrafficblitz
An Abbotsford Police officer is shown during a previous traffic enforcement blitz at Fraser Highway and Mt. Lehman Road.

Const. Ian MacDonald said police were "surprised, astonished and disappointed" this week at the number of speeders clocked along Maclure Road during a traffic enforcement blitz.

Police issued 60 traffic-violation tickets Tuesday afternoon, and 41 of those were for speeding.

He said what most surprised officers was that so many drivers were caught speeding despite there being two warning areas before police radar was used.

The first was a sign indicating the 60 km/h speed limit. The second was Speed Watch volunteers with a board that flashed drivers' speeds as they approached.

"Only after that were there officers with radar guns," MacDonald said.

The fastest driver was clocked at 113 km/h, resulting in his receiving an excessive-speed fine of $368 to $483 and having his vehicle impounded for seven days.

Another driver had his car impounded because he was suspected of being impaired by drugs.

Police targeted the Maclure corridor from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday at Bluejay, Townline, Clearbrook and Gladwin roads.

MacDonald said these areas are known for a high number of collisions and injury-related crashes.

"Seeing that behaviour (on Tuesday), we can see why those have been high-crash locations."

Abbotsford Police have made it a goal this year to reduce injury crashes by 25 per cent. MacDonald said Tuesday's results mean drivers can expect more traffic-enforcement blitzes across the city.

In a previous blitz, police expressed concerns about the use of handheld devices, as well as speeding and tailgating.



Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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