A pickup driver nabbed Sunday night for travelling at 72 kilometres per hour over the speed limit was found to be over the blood-alcohol limit and had his vehicle impounded, say West Shore RCMP.
Officers from the traffic unit had been conducting speed enforcement about 10:30 p.m. on Veterans Memorial Parkway near Cairndale Road in Colwood when the pickup passed by “at a very high rate of speed,” police said.
A laser device clocked the speed at 132 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.
Police said the 37-year-old driver provided two breath samples into a roadside-screening device that indicated he was above the legal blood-alcohol limit.
The Dodge Ram pickup he was in was towed and impounded for 30 days, and he was issued a 90-day driving prohibition and a $483 ticket for excessive speeding.
Excessive-speeding penalties kick in at speeds more than 40 km/h over the limit.
The fine starts at $368 for going more than 40 km/h over the limit and rises to $483 for more than 60 km/h over the limit.
The man also has to pay all towing and impound costs, and will have three penalty points added to his driving record.
Anyone who collects more than three penalty points during a one-year period must pay a driver penalty point premium that starts at $214 for four points and tops out at $29,376 for 50 or more points, according to ICBC.
Drivers with one or more excessive speeding convictions, or two or more roadside suspensions or prohibitions, or two or more violations over a three-year period for using an electronic device while driving also have to pay a driver risk premium that starts at $392 and rises to $1,383, depending on the number of violations.
Those who rack up driver penalty point or driver risk premiums have to pay them even if they don’t own or insure a vehicle. Driver risk premiums can be reduced or eliminated if drivers surrender their licences for a certain period.
