It was always a challenge when the violator failed to produce their driver鈥檚 licence.
Were they being truthful when they told me that they had forgotten it at home? Did the name, address and birthdate that they gave me belong to someone else? That honest face was occasionally nothing more than window dressing.
The motives could be many 鈥� no valid licence, prohibited from driving, wanted for a criminal offence, even people illegally in Canada. If I didn鈥檛 have the grounds to arrest the driver and hold them until I was satisfied that they were properly identified, I had to do my best at the roadside.
If there was a passenger in the vehicle, they were often part of my investigation.
When I informed the passenger that the driver was in violation of the Motor Vehicle Act and required them to identify the driver to me, it was an offence for them to refuse or give false information. On rare occasions, this did happen and the passengers were quite surprised to be ticketed along with the driver after I resolved the situation.
The ticket was minimal punishment for circumstances that could be considered to be obstructing a peace officer when false information was furnished. This is a criminal offence that could have serious repercussions in the passenger鈥檚 future.
Helping a friend try to avoid trouble in this manner is something that you should think twice about!
For more information on this topic, visit www.drivesmartbc.ca. Questions or comments are welcome by e-mail to comments@drivesmartbc.ca.
Tim Schewe is a retired RCMP constable with many years of traffic law enforcement experience. His column appears Friday.
