VICTORIA - The B.C. Liberal election campaign, which has been on cruise control for much of the first two weeks, has hit a speed bump with the resignation from cabinet of the minister in charge of the province's traffic laws -- over his speeding tickets.

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.

On Friday, van Dongen revealed his driver's licence had been suspended for four months for acquiring too many speeding tickets.

He offered an apology and asked that responsibility for the motor vehicle branch and the Crown Insurance Corp. of B.C. be removed from his ministry. But he didn't quit.

He said he didn't resign immediately because he believed he was too involved in his ministry's attempts to fight gang violence. He said it wasn't until he examined the public outcry that he decided he must quit.

"The public has to have absolute confidence in the person who holds the position, and 100 per cent of the public doesn't have that, that was clear this weekend, and that's why I've made the decision," said van Dongen.

The Opposition New Democrats called for his head, but Campbell praised van Dongen for stepping forward publicly with his driving record.

He also said he didn't want the suspension of his driving privileges to be an ongoing issue in the campaign for the May 12 election.

"I don't want my personal driving record or my failure to recognize the implications of that undermining the confidence people have in the solicitor general."

Van Dongen, who has held his Abbotsford seat since 1995, is still seeking re-election.

"I'm not proud of my driving record, but I'm very proud of all of the work I've done for the last 14 years as an MLA," he told The Canadian Press. "I have no hesitation in putting my record in front of my constituents."

It's the second time van Dongen has resigned from cabinet. In 2003, he quit after he was made aware he was part of an RCMP investigation involving the aquaculture industry.

Van Dongen was agriculture minister at the time and aquaculture was part of his responsibilities. He was cleared on any wrongdoing and re-appointed to cabinet.

The latest resignation comes at a time when the Liberals seemed to be cruising toward re-election.

"It gets the government off their message, that's the main effect," said Norman Ruff, a political science professor at the University of Victoria. "It gets the coverage of the Liberal Party off their message and onto the foibles of a cabinet minister."

Since van Dongen announced his driving suspension, the driving records of several other Liberal and New Democrat candidates have been made public.

Victoria political consultant Mike Geoghegan said the current campaign is in danger of turning into a pursuit of the perfect, puritanical candidate, one that is clean and, ultimately, boring.

With his driving misdeeds, Geoghegan pointed out that van Dongen joins former NDP minister Moe Sihota and Social Credit highway minister "Flying" Phil Gaglardi, who were both known for their need for speed.

"We've had a long tradition in British Columbia of cabinet ministers who speed," he said.

Rich Coleman, the Housing and Social Development Minister, has been tasked to take over as solicitor general -- a role he's played before.

Although the legislature has been dissolved and they're campaigning, cabinet ministers retain their duties during election campaigns and cabinet can be recalled to deal with an emergency.

Van Dongen is the second solicitor general in a year to resign in controversy.

He was appointed last year after his predecessor, John Les, was forced to resign after he was named in an ongoing police investigation into land transactions in the Fraser Valley. Les is also running as a candidate in the election.