DELTA Police Department said on Tuesday that it is using a new tool to help address the issue of street racing – a concern brought forward on a number of occasions by residents.
Recently the DPD Traffic Section put up a drone to help spot street racing taking place on Tsawwassen First Nation lands and in the area of Highway 17.
“The drone allows our officers to have fantastic visibility over a wide area, as well as zoom in on offender’s license plates,” said Acting Sgt. Grayson Smith, Head of the Delta Police Traffic Section. “Instead of trying to pull over these drivers going at high speeds, the drone operator follows them, and officers who are strategically placed can make these stops when safe to do so.”
During the enforcement effort on August 26, police impounded one vehicle travelling at 157 km/hr in a 80 km/hr zone. The driver was served a ticket for excessive speed, and the vehicle impounded for seven days.
Excessive speeding tickets have a cost that goes well beyond the fine. In addition to the $368-483 fine, impound and tow fees, this ticket adds three points to someone’s driving record, and a driver risk premium is added to insurance costs.
Police issued speeding tickets, and also conducted a number of inspections of vehicles. They towed a vehicle for being mechanically unfit after being modified for street racing.
“Using the drone in this manner was definitely productive. We’ll be making use of it for future enforcement initiatives of this nature,” said Smith. “We wanted to release this footage to put a certain type of driver on notice – your reckless driving won’t be tolerated.”