B.C. dump truck driver impersonated brother, who was sitting next to him, during traffic stop: RCMP

Police carrying out a commercial vehicle inspection blitz say a dump truck driver was pretending to be his brother, who was sitting right beside him.

Police in Burnaby say a commercial driver they stopped during a recent enforcement blitz had been prohibited from driving because of a previous impaired driving offence. His solution, according to Burnaby RCMP, was to impersonate his brother, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to him.

The incident occurred on Nov. 18, during the latest Lower Mainland Commercial Vehicle Enforcement group operation, which took place on Lougheed Highway at Kingsland Drive.

Police stopped the driver’s dump truck because it had “illegible dangerous goods placards,” Burnaby RCMP said in a news release Wednesday.

They said their investigation is ongoing and they will ask the B.C. Prosecution Service to file “applicable charges”—which could include impersonation and obstruction—“when appropriate.”

Officers from Burnaby RCMP’s Traffic Services Unit were joined in the enforcement effort by officers from the Vancouver Police Department, New Westminster Police Department, Metro Vancouver Transit Police and the City of Surrey Commercial Vehicle Unit.

In all, the team inspected 40 commercial vehicles, removing 21 of them from service, Burnaby RCMP said, adding that police identified 99 violations and issued 54 violation tickets.

“The number of trucks being placed out of service is still way too high,” said Const. Kevin Connolly, in the release.

“We plan on continuing these types of initiatives all over the Lower Mainland, into the new year and beyond.”