North Vancouver commercial driver has his truck impounded after several infractions

A heavy commercial flat deck driver has had his company vehicle impounded after alleged impaired driving and turning off his speed limiter.

On April 30, around 4 p.m. near Popkum, a heavy flat deck was stopped on Highway 1, eastbound.

A laser speed reader clocked the truck doing 121 km/h in a 100 km zone.

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A BC Highway Parol officer pulled the driver over and administered a breathalyzer test, which returned two results of ‘fail.’

“Combining speed with impairment is mixing two of the biggest risk factors in fatal collisions in B.C.,” says Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol. “Put that combination in a commercial vehicle and that danger is too high to ignore.”

Heavy commercial trucks are required to be speed limited to 105 km/h. This driver had turned off his speed limiter, allowing for his truck to reach the speed of 121 km/h.

Since April 2024, all heavy commercial trucks (over 11,793 kgs) manufactured after 1994, with electronically controlled engines, are required to be speed limited to 105 km/h on B.C. roads.

“This is a situation where each driver must be responsible for their own level of impairment,” said Cpl. McLaughlin in an interview with 1130 News Radio. “This is being investigated as an isolated incident. The company will have to deal with the consequences of having the vehicle towed and impounded, and there are some significant fees that come along with that.”

The driver, a 46-year-old man from North Vancouver, is now facing a 90-day immediate roadside prohibition for impaired driving. A 30-day vehicle impound, cost of which is on the company that owns the truck. $750 in administrative penalties and licence reinstatement fees for impaired driving. A violation ticket for speeding for a fine of $196. A violation ticket for turning off his speed limiter of $368.

“There are three things that are most likely to kill somebody on B.C. roads. Two of those three things are speed and impairment. When you combine those two things in this situation, you’ve already got a high-risk factor.

“Add that to the fact this is a heavy commercial vehicle. Obviously, those vehicles require a lot of skill to operate. They are big and heavy. They don’t turn or stop easily. So that’s an extra risk factor when you’re dealing with impairment and speed.”

— With files from Raynaldo Suarez