RCMP seize semi-trailer in Kamloops for failure to submit to alcohol test

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A man arrested at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police station in Antigonish is charged with driving while intoxicated.

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Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers seized a semi-trailer truck and suspended the driver's license driver for 90 days because he failed to provide “an adequate sample” for a breathalyzer, Kamloops detachment says.

The facts date back to Wednesday, when the detachment was informed that the semi-trailer in question was swerving without warning and almost hit the median .

Traffic officers located the vehicle at Copperhead and Versatile streets, on the southwest outskirts of Kamloops, around 6 p.m., according to declaration of secondment.

The RCMP then asked the driver to submit to a breathalyzer test, but the driver failed to provide an adequate [breath sample], which constitutes an alleged refusal , depending on the detachment.

Refusing to provide [a sample] of breath is punishable by the same sanction as failing the test, which would indicate a blood alcohol level exceeding 0.08, writes Corporal Crystal Evelyn of the Kamloops RCMP.

Dave Earle, CEO of the BC Trucking Association, which represents the industry, says he is disappointed with the trucker's behavior. We are always very concerned when the operator of a commercial vehicle drives impaired and unsafely, he says.

Members of the public should be able to expect truckers to drive safely, he said. Although the association does not record this type of incident, Dave Earle assures that this type of behavior is rare.

Under federal regulations and provincially, workers, including truck drivers, must report to their employees when they are not fit to work, he said.

These impairments go well beyond drugs and alcohol, however, according to Dave Earle. They can also be due to fatigue or difficulties in one's personal life.

The Worksafe[BC] rules are very specific, it is necessary to duty of each employee to declare their state of capacity, to go to their boss and say: "I am not able to work today,", says Dave Earle. It is then the supervisors who have the last word, according to him.