A driver with too little gas and too many people learned a costly lesson that speeding doesn't save on gas, with the group receiving nearly $1,000 in traffic tickets.
Just after 7 p.m. on Aug. 16, BC Highway Patrol (BCHP) stopped a grey minivan on Highway 97C near Merritt after recording the vehicle doing 136 km/h in a 100 km zone.
When questioned by the officer, the driver said he was speeding because he was "nearly out of gas."
"We explained to the driver that speeding dramatically worsens your fuel economy," BCHP Corp. Michael McLaughlin said in a media release. "And sure enough, the van ran out of gas at roadside."
Compounding the situation, the driver couldn't explain why only two out of nine people were wearing seatbelts, or why a 3-year-old's car seat had no functioning buckles.
The driver, a 36-year-old Edmonton man, was issued $472 in tickets for speeding 21-40 km/h ($196), permit passenger without seatbelt ($167, and child improperly restrained ($109). Three passengers were also issued tickets for failing to wear seatbelts for additional fines totalling $501.
Additionally, the driver paid for a taxi to bring gas out to the van and transport the extra passenger.
"There are many reasons to slow down. You will very likely avoid police attention, and you will be much safer," McLaughlin said. "If you get into a collision at high speed, every person who is not wearing a seatbelt will die. You do not want that on your conscience."
