It’s lucky there wasn’t a deadly outcome, police say, after apprehending a driver travelling the wrong way on the Upper Levels highway last week.
At around 2 a.m. on April 18, North Vancouver RCMP received multiple calls of a vehicle travelling the wrong way along Highway 1 near the Mountain Highway exit.
When officers arrived shortly after, they found the vehicle stopped with the hazard lights on in the left lane. The driver had been travelling southbound on the northbound side of the Cut.
Officers approached the driver, who showed signs of impairment, said Const. Mansoor Sahak, spokesperson for North Vancouver RCMP.
Police then had the driver, a male in his 20s, go through a field sobriety test.
Then the driver was arrested and brought to cells where further testing was done to detect drugs other than alcohol in the suspect’s system, Sahak said.
Now, the driver faces potential charges of impaired operation of a motor vehicle, as well as other offences related to the alleged substance use while driving.
This could have had a deadly outcome, warns Sahak.
“When it comes to wrong-way drivers on the highway, the speeds are very fast,” he said. “Someone being able to do evasive manoeuvres to avoid a collision is unlikely.”
In the event of a crash, the chances of severe injury or death are high, Sahak added.
“As we are approaching the summer months, we will continue to monitor drivers for impairment,” he said. “Too many lives are lost every year to impaired driving.”
