A BC Highway Patrol officer just happened to be around Castlegar for work on April 14 when he saw a rusty, derelict truck on the road.
He stopped the driver, who was on his way to pick up a child from school, on Highway 3A north of Castlegar.
The vehicle was towed and the driver was issued several tickets, including driving without insurance, operating a vehicle without seatbelts, failing to produce a driver’s licence, and driving a defective vehicle.
BC Highway Patrol tweeted a photo of the vehicle with no caption, letting the image speak for itself.
— BC Highway Patrol (@BCHwyPatrol) April 20, 2022
“I was speechless,” Corporal Mike Halskov, media relations officer for BC Highway Patrol, told Daily Hive Vancouver.
He was surprised the truck was even running at all.
“It’s certainly scary. I can imagine anybody who’s a parent would just be cringing right now to know someone would take a vehicle in that condition — or lack thereof — and be transporting a child in it on any roadway, let alone a public highway,” said Halskov.
The truck was towed back to the driver’s residence, but it can not be used on public roads until it gets an inspection and is restored.
“The driver was not thrilled with the situation, understandably. He got several tickets and had to deal with the loss of his vehicle, but in the broader picture, I think most people would agree getting this vehicle off the road is a higher priority,” he said.
He doesn’t know if the driver had used the truck before, since BC Highway Patrol first became aware of it on April 14.
The child in question may have had to walk home, but Halskov figures anything’s better than driving home in “that contraption.”
“I’ve been in the patrol for over 20 years on and off throughout my career, and this is one of the worst I have seen,” he said.
“To his credit, it has four inflated tires and air conditioning.”
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Halskov asks drivers not to use vehicles in poor condition, adding that they will likely be towed, and they will likely be ticketed if caught in the act.