A rental truck was impounded and the driver fined after it was travelling at almost double the speed limit in a construction zone near Courtenay on June 26.
BC Highway Patrol officers were conducting speed enforcement in the construction zone on Highway 19 near the Comox Valley Parkway. A construction crew was on scene repaving the northbound lanes of the highway, with crews and equipment fully active in the area. A rental truck drove through the construction zone, at what BC Highway Patrol registered as 106 km/h in an area with a 60 km/h speed limit.
Officers pulled the truck over and found that the driver was impaired by alcohol.
Our BC Highway Patrol officers saved lives by being in the right place at the right time. The construction workers on the roadway were put in danger because of the impaired driver,
said Staff Sergeant Tallboy, Acting Officer in Charge for the BCHP Vancouver Island. If you are planning on consuming alcohol or drugs this summer, then arrange for a safe ride, and please keep roadside workers safe by slowing down for construction zones.
The driver was given a $368 ticket for the excessive speed. The driver was also prohibited from driving for a 90 day period. The rental vehicle was impounded for 30 days.
Cpl. Melissa Jongema said that when a rental vehicle is impounded, the vehicle will be in impound for seven days, after which the rental company can apply for a review. The company would then have the ability to bill the costs of the entire impound to the driver.