‘No margin for error’: Lifted pickup truck impounded after driver clocked at 208 km/h, police say

Police shared this image of the driver and his son, whose names they did not share, with their news release. (BCHP)

B.C. Highway Patrol officers impounded a Mission man’s lifted Dodge pickup truck after spotting it travelling at more than 200 km/h on the Coquihalla Highway earlier this month.

The incident occurred just south of Kamloops around 7 p.m. on April 10, the BCHP said in a news release Friday.

An officer saw the vehicle travelling “much faster than other traffic” and pulled it over, the release reads.

“This pickup was hard to miss, with its lifted suspension and a laser radar reading of 208 km/h in a 120 zone,” said Cpl. Michael McLaughlin, in the release.

“No vehicles are safe at those speeds on public roads, but a heavy truck that is high off the ground is even more unstable than other traffic.”

The 43-year-old driver, who had his young son with him in the truck, told the officer he was testing his engine, BCHP said.

“It’s an excuse that police officers hear quite frequently, but it is not considered a legal excuse,” the release reads.

The driver was issued a $483 ticket for excessive speeding and his truck was impounded for seven days.

Excessive speeding is defined in B.C.’s Motor Vehicle Act as exceeding the speed limit by more than 40 km/h.

Drivers caught speeding excessively can have their vehicles impounded for seven days on a first offence, and longer if they’ve been caught doing so on any previous occasion within the last two years.

With the cost of the towing and impound, as well as at least three years of higher insurance premiums, police estimated the driver will be facing total costs of roughly $2,500.

“There was no margin for error here, and this is why excessive speeding tickets and impounds exist,” said McLaughlin. “We don’t want you or your kids to get hurt or killed and we would much prefer that you just slow down.”