Flatdeck driver caught being impaired, with speed limiter turned off, east of Chilliwack last week: BCHP

POPKUM/CHILLIWACK – A commercial flatdeck driver is facing the consequences after he was caught driving allegedly impaired over 20 km/h above the posted speed limit, with his speed limiter turned off, east of Chilliwack last week.

According to a statement from BC Highway Patrol spokesperson Corporal Michael McLaughlin, police stopped a heavy commercial flatdeck on Thursday, April 30, just before 4 p.m., on Highway 1 eastbound near Popkum. A laser speed reader indicated the truck was going 121 km/h in a posted 100 zone.

Corporal McLaughlin says police spoke with the driver and subsequently administered what they call an “Approved Screening Device”, and obtained two readings of “fail.”

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 BC roads.

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

The truck driver, a 46-year-old North Vancouver man, now faces the following:

• A 90-day immediate roadside prohibition for impaired driving;
• A 30-day vehicle impound (the cost of the tow and the impound is the responsibility of the company that owned the truck);
• $750 in administrative penalties and licence reinstatement fees for impaired driving,
• A violation ticket for speeding (21-40 km/h over the limit), section 146(3) of the BC Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) for a fine of $196;
• A violation ticket for ‘speed limiter in heavy commercial vehicle not activated,’ section 146.1(2)(b) of the BC MVA, ($368).

“Heavy commercial vehicles require careful driving because they take a long time to stop and manoeuvre at speed and cause major damage when things go wrong,” says Corporal McLaughlin. “Turning off a speed limiter is poor judgment. It’s not a coincidence that an impaired driver might exercise such poor judgment.”