VICTORIA -- The Nanaimo RCMP are urging drivers to reduce their travelling speeds after a spike in excessive speeding tickets were issued in June.

Mounties say that excessive speeding tickets skyrocketed by 400 per cent in June 2020 compared to June 2019.

In total, 27 excessive speeding tickets, which are issued when a vehicle is travelling more than 40 km/h above the posted speed limit, were issued last month in the region.

Meanwhile, a total of 338 traffic violation tickets were issued in Nanaimo in June, an increase of 18 per cent compared to the 277 written over the same period last year.

“These numbers are alarming as statistics confirm, speed continues to be one of the leading causes of motor vehicle crashes and fatalities on our roads and highways,” said Const. Gary O'Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP in a release Thursday.

Police are reminding drivers that excessive speeding tickets that are issued when a car is travelling between 40 km/h to 60 km/h above the speed limit automatically result in a seven-day impoundment of their vehicle and a $368 fine.

If drivers are found to be speeding by more than 60 km/h, the fine increases to $483 and the vehicle is impounded.