The taxpayers of sa国际传媒 pay police officers to protect them and enforce the law, not to play gotcha. Every driver knows that when you reach a stop sign, you have to bring the car to a wheels-locked stop before going on. So when Myron Kinach did that, and still got a ticket, he fought it to the sa国际传媒 Supreme Court. He won.
The stop sign at Hammersmith Way and Coppersmith Way in Richmond is set by the side of the road approaching the intersection, but the stop line is painted on the road about five metres farther on. Kinach stopped at the sign, then drove on.
The RCMP officer, who was waiting just around the corner, ticketed him for not stopping at the line.
The fact the officer was waiting is what should annoy the rest of us. Court heard that he handed out four or five tickets a day at that spot.
That鈥檚 not an intersection; it鈥檚 a fishing hole.
The police were clearly using the unusual positioning of the sign and the line to catch motorists who thought they had obeyed the law.
The purpose of stop signs and stoplights is to prevent cars from hitting each other. That goal is accomplished by having drivers stop before they go into the intersection, which Kinach did.
If there is an issue of visibility, and the line needs to be where it is, Richmond should move the stop sign closer to the line.
RCMP officers should not be playing a game of inches with drivers.
