B.C.’s Minister of Transportation Todd Stone admitted on Friday to recently being pulled over by police and fined $196 for speeding, an incident he described as unacceptable but in no way a reflection of his ability to serve in cabinet.

Stone, the MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson, said he was pulled over three weeks ago while speeding along the Patricia Bay Highway en route to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal. He said he was going 29 km/h over the posted 80 km/h speed zone.

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“I paid the ticket and obviously, this isn’t acceptable and I’ve got to set a better example for British Columbians,” he said. “I’ve taken it to heart, and I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Stone, whose wife and three kids were with him at the time, said he immediately notified Premier Christy Clark and his caucus colleagues of the incident.

“Her response to me was I think general disappointment, but you know bottom line we both agreed it’s not acceptable and it’s not acceptable for any of us, whether you are elected or not, you should be driving to, or below the posted speed limits, not beyond them,” he said. “I assured her that I was going to learn from this and not let it happen again.”

It is not the first time Stone has been ticketed for speeding. In 2000, he said his licence was suspended for 1-2 months as a result of five speeding tickets he received in a single year. Since then, however, Stone said he has only been ticketed twice — the last time being three weeks ago.

“I’m as committed to doing everything I can to enhance safety on B.C.’s highways and roads,” Stone said when asked if the ticket compromised his ability to serve as minister of transportation. “And I think I’ve demonstrated in the last two years that I’ve been the minister a significant number of initiatives that have done exactly that.

“That all being said, it is not acceptable to speed. I completely acknowledge that and I’ve said to everyone around me that I’m going to learn from this and not let it happen again.”

Stone also serves as the deputy house leader.

Premier Clark was unavailable for comment.

colivier@theprovince.com

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