If you are not sure if your driver’s licence or insurance is up to date, you should have a look.
That’s from Comox Valley RCMP, who say they gave 40 drivers reminders that either their insurance or driver’s licence needed to be renewed.
The finding comes after officers believed they were seeing an upward trend in the number of drivers who were failing to renew their driver’s licence and/or insurance. They say officers focused on those two issues at the start of July, using Automated Licence Plate Recognition.
The technology is used to identify traffic infractions and criminal activity that would not be detected as easily with cameras that read licence plates of parked or moving vehicles.
Officers say that by the end of the week, 34 drivers were found without valid insurance and six drivers without a current driver’s licence.
Cst. Brad Landers of the Comox Valley RCMP traffic unit says findings were surprising.
“We were blown away by the number of drivers who were travelling around the Comox Valley without a valid driver’s licence or insurance. There were several instances in which we couldn’t even stop all the vehicles being identified by the ALPR,” said Landers.
“People are telling us that they didn’t get a letter to remind them of their renewals, or that they had no idea their insurance was due since they had no validation tag for reference anymore.”
Police say the fine for driving without insurance in B.C. is $598 and if you get in crash without it, you will be paying out of pocket for all the damages and potentially face higher premiums in the future.
If you do not have a licence, you might not be covered by your insurance in a crash, according to police.
“If you’re reading this, now is a good time to set up reminders on your phone, your computer, or your home calendar,” added Landers.
