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Police nab cabbie impaired and driving 150 km/h on Highway 1

West Vancouver police clocked a cabbie driving 145 km/hr on the Upper Levels highway. When officers pulled him over, the North Vancouver driver also failed a roadside screening test for alcohol.

 West Vancouver police clocked a cabbie driving 145 km/hr on the Upper Levels highway. When officers pulled him over, the North Vancouver driver also failed a roadside screening test for alcohol. file photo North Shore NewsWest Vancouver police clocked a cabbie driving 145 km/hr on the Upper Levels highway. When officers pulled him over, the North Vancouver driver also failed a roadside screening test for alcohol. file photo North Shore News

West Vancouver Police have slammed the brakes on a North Vancouver cabbie, after clocking him driving drunk at almost 150 kilometres per hour on Highway 1.

The driver attracted police attention around 3 p.m. Sunday after officers doing speed checks near the Cypress Bowl exit notice the cab zoom by at nearly 60 km/hr over the posted speed limit.

Police pulled the cab over, noting that the cabbie also wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. But after speaking with the driver – who was alone in the cab – officers became suspicious that he was also impaired. As a result of further investigation, which involved a request that the cab driver blow into a roadside screening device – police issued the 58-year-old driver a 90-day driving prohibition and impounded the cab for 30 days.

Police also issued a separate seven-day impound of the vehicle, a Toyota Corolla, for excessive speed.

In addition to impound fees, the driver was also slapped with two tickets: a $368 fine for excessive speed and a $167 ticket for not wearing a seatbelt.

Cons. Jeff Palmer, spokesman for the West Vancouver Police, said the driver indicated to police he had been on his way to pick up a fare, “but we don’t have any information about where or when.”

Palmer said no further charges are being considered, but added the taxi driver faces the possibility of additional consequences as all impounds are subject to review by the superintendent of motor vehicles.

Palmer added as the registered owner of the vehicle, the cab company has also been notified of the impound.

Palmer said drunk driving and speeding are both very concerning as “two of the top risk factors associated with injury and fatality accidents.” Combining the two only adds to the concerns, he said.

Last week, a 23-year-old West Vancouver man who had his 2015 Ferrari impounded last summer after being clocked going 210 kilometres an hour on the Lions Gate Bridge pleaded guilty in court to excessive speeding.

West Vancouver police have impounded almost 100 cars so far this year for excessive speeding, compared to 46 during the same period last year, said Palmer.

About 60 per cent of those drivers were nabbed speeding on Highway 1.

Palmer said those nabbed speeding include a variety of drivers and vehicles – from young men in Ferraris to moms in SUVs. And now apparently, taxi drivers as well.

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