KPU honours its athletes page 19
North Delta native a B.C. Book Prize finalist page 15
Tuesday April 1, 2014
Serving Surrey and North Delta www.surreyleader.com
Court, jail await B.C. drivers who don’t pay U.S. traffic tickets Suspended licences make driving a crime by Jeff Nagel A GROWING number of B.C. motorists are getting a nasty surprise after ignor-
ing speeding tickets issued in Washington state because they don’t think the long arm of Uncle Sam can reach them. Blaine city administrators say many Canadians are regularly appearing in court there to face criminal charges of driving while under licence suspension that stem from unpaid traffic tickets. They say the typical case involves a B.C. motorist who gets caught speeding in Washington and ignores the ticket because they think they’re immune to U.S. enforcement. But about three months after the ticket is issued – if it’s not paid or disputed – state authorities declare that driver’s B.C. licence suspended in Washington. The next time the driver crosses the border they’re nabbed instantly by U.S. authorities for driving while suspended. Blaine Deputy Court Administrator Raylene King said the courthouse there is seeing a “rash of Canadians” coming as a result. The court docket in Blaine last Wednesday featured 11 arraignments of accused making first appearances, nine of them for driving while suspended. Blaine immigration lawyer Len Saunders arrives to the same scene each Wednesday morning – a courthouse parking lot jammed with Canadians arriving to face the music. “They get a speeding ticket and they blow it off thinking, ‘the Americans can’t do anything because Len Saunders I’m a Canadian’,” said Saunders. “Wrong idea.” The typical penalty there for driving while suspended is a $500 or $600 fine on top of the unpaid ticket, although the maximum is $1,000 and up to 90 days in jail. For one Surrey resident, an unpaid $150 speeding ticket in the U.S. nearly
“Canadians have no clue what problems they can get into at the border...”
See NEXUS PASS / Page 4
Sophia Shaw of Goh Ballet Academy performs in the Solo International Contemporary class (ages 13-15) on the first weekend of the Surrey Festival of Dance at the Surrey Arts Centre. The festival continues until April 29, with a final awards show on May 10.
Editorial 6 Letters 7 Sports 18 Classifieds 20
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