The Okanagan's worst drivers

Photo: Contributed

Bad drivers are getting some attention in the North Okanagan after four of them left RCMP shaking their heads.

On Oct 29, RCMP, working with BC Conservation, found a drunken hunter behind the wheel with his loaded firearm in the vehicle.

At about 6:30 p.m. the 64-year-old man was stopped by the combined team at a road-check on Harris Road near Lumby.

“When they dealt with him they noticed a strong odour of liquor on his breath,” explains RCMP spokesman Gord Molendyk. “On a closer look, open liquor was found in the vehicle and the man admitted to consuming liquor 20-minutes before the stop.”

The man provided two roadside samples to police which both registered a fail.

The man was issued a 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) and a violation ticket for Possessing Open Liquor in Motor vehicle.

In addition, he also received violation tickets from the Conservation Officers for having a loaded firearm in the vehicle, a $230 fine.

Molendyk says RCMP will often work with other agencies in the province when conducting rural check-stops.

“At times, especially in hunting season, everyone works together to do a complete check of everything that moves,” says Molendyk, which he says includes all personal vehicles, commercial trucks and even ATVs.

Two days later on Oct 31 at 1:30 p.m. a driver who was following too closely, on a slippery road, and drove into the back of a bus at 34 Street and Coldstream Avenue.

The 40-year-old driver of a Ford Focus was issued a ticket for following too close.

Although police note that it was raining at the time of the crash, they are not clear whether that contributed to the accident.

The driver of the bus was taken to hospital to be checked out and Molendyk says no passengers on the bus reported any injuries.

The next evening at 10:05 p.m., police were called to an accident in the 4600 block of Old Kamloops road.

The driver and lone occupant of the vehicle had crashed it into the south bound ditch.

“Their investigation learned that the 50-year-old woman was an unlicensed driver and that she was under the influence of drugs,” says Molendyk.  “The driver was served a prohibition notice under the Motor Vehicle Act and also served with a 24-hour suspension for her impaired by drug offence.”

Molendyk says because she was already driving without a license, as it had previously been suspended, she may face further repercussions from ICBC.

Finally, on Sunday around 11:25 p.m. an officer with North Okanagan Traffic Services caught a woman on Hwy. 97A clocking her at 150 km/h in a 100 km/h zone.

The woman in her 50’s was driving her Kia southbound on Hwy. 97A, by Otter Lake Cross Road, when she was caught.

The woman was issued an excessive speeding ticket and the car was impounded for  seven days.

On further investigation, the officer discovered that this was the woman’s third excessive speeding ticket in five years.

“With changes to the excessive speed laws it was the first time her vehicle had been impounded,” says Molendyk with a smirk. “She may be receiving a letter from ICBC about her driving practices.”

In the last week, North Okanagan RCMP have handed out three 24-hour prohibitions, three 72 hour Immediate Roadside Prohibitions (IRPs) and eight 90-day IRPs, and they've impounded 13 vehicles.