The BC Highway Patrol (BCHP) busted a pair of young men on sport bikes weaving through busy Lower Mainland traffic on Sunday afternoon.
According to police, the riders were stunting on Hwy 1 at the Cassiar Connector in East Vancouver, and the responding officer was unable to see any licence plates on their bikes.
It turns out they were tucked away and out of sight.
“Some sport motorcycles have their rear fenders removed and a licence plate on a folding mount under the rear tire,” Cpl. Michael McLaughlin explained in a media release.
“That is completely illegal. A motorcycle must have a fender and a licence plate that is mounted vertically, with a light, at the rear-most portion of the fender.”
The BCHP release claims the two men, 18 and 23 years old and both from Vancouver, crossed highway dividers, drove over painted medians and lane-split without signalling.
They were eventually pulled on their BMW sport motorcycles over in “heavy traffic” near the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, the release notes.
McLaughlin says the riders tried to bend their licence-plate mounts back into a vertical position after being pulled over.
“It was not very convincing,” he said.
Both riders received fines for driving without due care and attention and improper display of a licence plate, along with seven-day impounds for stunt driving. The teenager was also fined for not displaying his ‘N’ sign.
They also got six-point penalties against their licences, which the BCHP says will result in hundreds of dollars in high-risk driver premiums. The BC Superintendent of Motor Vehicles will be reviewing their licence status as well.
“If you make an effort to follow the rules, it’s less stressful for everyone and you probably won’t get verbal abuse from passing motorists as you watch your motorcycle get towed,” McLaughlin added.
“Not to mention the thousands of dollars you’ll save in tickets and high-risk driver premiums.”
