A B.C. truck driver was pulled over by highway patrol, and officers discovered a festive candle in his truck’s cab, prompting suspicions as to why it was there in the first place.
The truck was pulled over as part of a Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) stop, which the BC Highway Patrol says can happen to any driver at any time.
On Dec. 4, at around 9 a.m. on Highway 3B, BC Highway Patrol pulled over an orange Peterbilt tractor-trailer, which had two loaded flat-deck trailers. A release from BC Highway Patrol described the vehicle as a “festive tractor-trailer.”
Police radar clocked the driver travelling at 75 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. After he was pulled over, officers made the discovery of a candle that was lit in the truck’s cab, and they had a theory as to why.
“It’s possible that the driver is very fond of Christmas candles. It’s also possible that he was trying to mask the odour of liquor,” Corporal Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol said in a statement.
“In this case, the officer gave the driver a Mandatory Alcohol Screening breath demand, so there was no need to form suspicion that the driver had been drinking.”
The B.C. truck driver, a 52-year-old Abbotsford man, blew a “warn,” which showed the driver was above the legal limit, leading to several consequences, including:
- Three-day immediate roadside prohibition of his licence
- Three-day vehicle impound for the truck (owned by a trucking company in Agassiz)
- A ticket for speeding ($138)
- A ticket for having open liquor ($230)
