B.C. Highway Patrol charged a North Vancouver truck driver with impaired driving after stopping a speeding commercial vehicle with its speed limiter disabled.

On April 30, shortly before 4 p.m., officers stopped a heavy commercial flatdeck travelling eastbound on Highway 1 near Popkum after a laser speed reader recorded the truck travelling 121 km/h in a 100-km/h zone.

After speaking with the driver, an officer administered an approved screening device, which produced two “fail” readings, according to a news release.

Since April 2024, heavy commercial trucks over 11,793 kg manufactured after 1994 and equipped with electronically controlled engines are required to be speed-limited to 105 km/h in British Columbia.

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

The 46-year-old truck driver received a 90-day Immediate roadside prohibition for impaired driving and a 30-day vehicle impound.

Towing and impound costs

Police said the towing and impound costs will be the responsibility of the company that owns the truck.

The driver also faces $750 in administrative penalties and licence reinstatement fees related to impaired driving.

Additional violation tickets included speeding between 21 km/h and 40 km/h over the limit under Section 146(3) of the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act, carrying a $196 fine, and operating a heavy commercial vehicle without an activated speed limiter under Section 146.1(2)(b), carrying a $368 fine.

“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,” McLaughlin said. “Turning off a speed limiter is poor judgment. It’s not a coincidence that an impaired driver might exercise such poor judgment.”