Saanich police are celebrating Christmas in July, but a Langford man with a dozen driving prohibitions isn’t.
Last Saturday evening, as police conducted road checks in support of the Counterattack program dubbed Christmas in July, officers encountered a 29-year-old driving without a licence and a stack of driving prohibitions.
At about 10:15 p.m., police in the 3300-block of Quadra St. watched a white 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier turn abruptly in an attempt to evade the roadblock. A traffic safety unit officer soon located the driver hiding in a nearby underground parking lot.
“On speaking to the driver, he immediately smelled the odour of alcohol,” said Saanich police spokesperson Sgt. Dean Jantzen. “This is once again an example of an individual trying to avoid a roadblock for obvious reasons.”
The man failed two breath tests and was later found to be driving without a licence. He already had 11 separate driving prohibitions since July 2007, including a requirement to have an ignition interlock device in his vehicle and completing a mandatory rehab program.
Those conditions were obsolete – his driver’s licence had long been cancelled.
He received another 90 day immediate roadside prohibition. The Superintendent of Motor Vehicles has suspended the man from driving until June 13, 2015. He also faced an impaired driving charge.
“That single contact in and of itself really does explain why we’re out here doing these things,” Jantzen said.
“Although the rest of the evening was fairly quiet, it’s this one individual here that we were out there looking for and as luck would have it, he drew attention to himself and was contacted by our officers and safely removed from roadways. Hopefully this time for good.”
Three other drivers also received IRPs during the roadblock, two 24-hour suspensions for drug use, and a second related to alcohol and breaching a court condition.
“These are the people that we’re really looking for,” he added. “It’s not the individuals having a glass of wine with dinner.”
nnorth@saanichnews.com
