Police in British Columbia have noted an increase in the number of drivers being pulled over for operating vehicles without valid insurance.
This trend was observed by law enforcement agencies in various jurisdictions, including the BC highway patrol in the Kootenay region and the Coquitlam RCMP.
As reported by the Vancouver Sun, officers within the Kootenay region have caught 177 individuals for driving uninsured vehicles between December and early January. Similarly, the Coquitlam RCMP has issued 24 tickets in the first 18 days of 2024, marking a significant jump from the 11 tickets it issued for the whole month of January in the previous year.
Staff Sgt. Mark McCutcheon of the Coquitlam RCMP linked the issue to the discontinuation of decals as a visual cue for insurance validity.
“When our officers stop vehicles for no insurance, drivers are often saying that they forgot or didn’t realize because they don’t have the decal reminder on their vehicle anymore,” he said.
C has replaced insurance decals with new license plates that allow police to utilize automated recognition technology and quickly identify unlawful drivers on the road.
To facilitate this transition, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) said it worked closely with the provincial government and law enforcement agencies.
While the Crown-owned insurer maintained that the elimination of decals hasn’t largely impacted the number of uninsured vehicles in the province, it did call on drivers to check when their insurance is due for renewal.
“We estimate less than 1% of drivers on B.C. roads are uninsured, and that has not changed since decals were eliminated in May 2022,” ICBC spokesperson Greg Harper told the Vancouver Sun.
Harper additionally stated that ICBC has been implementing various measures to streamline the insurance renewal process, including offering renewals at brokers’ offices, by phone, and online.
He also said the insurer sends renewal reminders and added that many brokers use text, email, and phone alerts to inform drivers.
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