British Columbia's top cop will be hitching rides for the rest of the election campaign.

Public Safety Minister John van Dongen announced on April 24th that his driver's license has been suspended for speeding.

The lead-footed Liberal cabinet minister said he got a letter from the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles notifying him of the suspension.

Van Dongen said he mailed his driver's license in to the office and won't be appealing the decision.

The minister, whose responsibilities include the Insurance Corporation of B.C. and the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, said he's asked the premier to assign another minister responsibility for the Crown auto insurance company or the motor vehicles branch.

The government announced that the two departments had been transferred to the Labour Ministry, effective immediately.

Premier Gordon Campbell said the suspension was probably embarrassing for his minister and admitted that van Dongen's penchant for putting the pedal to the metal caught him by surprise.

He commended van Dongen for being up front and protecting the integrity of his ministry.

Drivers get a warning letter if they rack up nine to 14 driving demerit points, said Mark Jan Vrem, manager of media relations for ICBC. After that, it's an escalating series of driving bans.

He said that 15 to 19 points will trigger a prohibition that runs from three to 12 months, 20 to 24 points the prohibition is from four to 18 months and 25 to 49 points is five to 24 months. He added that if a person gets two convictions for excessive speeding – anything over 40 kilometres over the limit - that'll also trigger a driving prohibition that can range from three to 18 months.

Vrem said speeding drivers also must pay more to renew their licenses and have a driver's risk premium added to their auto insurance.

Van Dongen, who represents the Abbotsford-Clayburn riding, is seeking his fifth election victory in the May 12th vote.

Note: John van Dongen said Monday he'd called Premier Gordon Campbell to offer his resignation as solicitor general and public safety minister, saying the public doesn't have 100 per cent confidence in a minister who violates the rules he's sworn to administer.