Close X
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. Woman Ticketed After Complaining To RCMP About Student Driver

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 Mar, 2018 06:42 PM
  • B.C. Woman Ticketed After Complaining To RCMP About Student Driver
WHISTLER, B.C. — A woman in British Columbia has been fined nearly $500 for traffic violations after she reported another motorist's driving to police.
 
 
Staff Sgt. Paul Hayes says Whistler RCMP received a complaint last July from a woman who said a driving school's vehicle was travelling well below the posted speed limit on Highway 99.
 
 
Officers investigated and found video footage that showed the woman, not the student driver, violating several traffic laws, including using a cellphone to take photos of the other vehicle while she was driving.
 
 
Hayes says the woman was issued two tickets and notes it was likely not the outcome she had anticipated.
 
 
Court records show Joanna Harrington was charged with one count of changing lanes over a solid line and one count of using a mobile device while driving, infractions that come with fines of $109 and $368 respectively.
 
 
Harrington declined comment to The Canadian Press, but in a statement to CBC News she says she was wrong to use her cellphone to document the driving school car, and in overtaking the vehicle before the solid white line ended.
 
 
Harrington was due in court on Monday, but her statement says she missed the appearance because she didn't realize an attempt to postpone the court date had been unsuccessful.
 
 
The statement also says Harrington believes the driving instructor was "more focused on using his student to play games with other drivers than focusing on what he should have been focusing on."
 
 
But driving instructor Todd McGivern said he was simply teaching his student, a woman in her 20s, how to safely respond to tailgating.
 
 
McGivern said it would not have been safe for the student to pull over because shoulders on the stretch of highway between Pemberton and Whistler are narrow and often filled with gravel.
 
 
Instead, he instructed the student to slow down slightly then increase her speed back to the posted limit in an attempt to put safe distance between the vehicles.
 
 
The longer they refused to pull over, the more agitated the other driver became, McGivern said.
 
 
"She's honking her horn, waving her arms around, flashing her lights, using her turn signals, even, to tell us to get off the road," he said.
 
 
The driving school's car was equipped with front and rear cameras, and McGivern later turned video footage of the incident over to police.
 
 
Hayes said the incident is a reminder for all drivers to exercise patience behind the wheel.

MORE National ARTICLES

Newfoundland Judge Rules Sexist Slur Against Reporter Was Not A Public Disturbance

Newfoundland Judge Rules Sexist Slur Against Reporter Was Not A Public Disturbance
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A judge has ruled a notorious sexist slur aimed at a reporter in St. John's, N.L., was vulgar and offensive but wasn't a crime under the circumstances.

Newfoundland Judge Rules Sexist Slur Against Reporter Was Not A Public Disturbance

Canada 150 Saw Record Number Of International Tourists: Statistics Canada

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says international tourism set an annual record during Canada 150 last year, with 20.8 million trips of one or more nights.

Canada 150 Saw Record Number Of International Tourists: Statistics Canada

Commercial Airplane Incidents, Accidents Jump In 2017, Safety Board Says

A national pilots association is raising alarm bells over new accident numbers showing a year-over-year jump in incidents involving commercial airliners.

Commercial Airplane Incidents, Accidents Jump In 2017, Safety Board Says

Case Of Man Accused In Murder Of Halifax Yoga Instructor Back In Court

Case Of Man Accused In Murder Of Halifax Yoga Instructor Back In Court
The case of a Halifax man charged with the second-degree murder of a Montreal-born yoga instructor was back in court Tuesday.

Case Of Man Accused In Murder Of Halifax Yoga Instructor Back In Court

Toddler Breaks Leg After Boot Sucked Into Escalator At Vancouver Airport

Toddler Breaks Leg After Boot Sucked Into Escalator At Vancouver Airport
A Calgary woman is reminding parents about the dangers of escalators after her toddler's foot became stuck in one and he broke his leg.

Toddler Breaks Leg After Boot Sucked Into Escalator At Vancouver Airport

Alberta Shrugs Off B.C. Legal Challenge On Wine Ban, Says Much More At Stake

Alberta Shrugs Off B.C. Legal Challenge On Wine Ban, Says Much More At Stake
Alberta's economic development minister is shrugging off a legal challenge filed by British Columbia over Alberta's ban on wine from that province.

Alberta Shrugs Off B.C. Legal Challenge On Wine Ban, Says Much More At Stake