VANCOUVER -- High occupancy vehicle lane cheat Paul Armstrong was a no-show at traffic court yesterday, but his dummy was there: a well-dressed, a life-sized mannequin sporting tortoise-shell shades.
"Gee whiz, what a surprise," said Justice of the Peace Colleen Proctor, rolling her eyes at Mr. Armstrong's alleged carpool buddy. "Can you turn that thing around?" she asked RCMP traffic officer Lorne Lecker. "I find it very distracting."
The vision of the beefy, no-nonsense officer toting a department-store dummy into Port Coquitlam's provincial court provided some comic relief in a building under heavy guard during accused serial killer Robert Pickton's preliminary hearing.
But Const. Lecker said the fun and games with phoney fastlane passengers is over.
While Mr. Armstrong, arrested on the Trans-Canada Highway with "Manny" riding shotgun, will have to pay the $98 fine and take two licence demerits for illegally driving in a lane for vehicles with more than one passenger, police say future offenders will be hit harder.
Want to learn more?
http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id=DA1D4B04-C70E-422F-B91C-223C1F32BEE0
"Gee whiz, what a surprise," said Justice of the Peace Colleen Proctor, rolling her eyes at Mr. Armstrong's alleged carpool buddy. "Can you turn that thing around?" she asked RCMP traffic officer Lorne Lecker. "I find it very distracting."
The vision of the beefy, no-nonsense officer toting a department-store dummy into Port Coquitlam's provincial court provided some comic relief in a building under heavy guard during accused serial killer Robert Pickton's preliminary hearing.
But Const. Lecker said the fun and games with phoney fastlane passengers is over.
While Mr. Armstrong, arrested on the Trans-Canada Highway with "Manny" riding shotgun, will have to pay the $98 fine and take two licence demerits for illegally driving in a lane for vehicles with more than one passenger, police say future offenders will be hit harder.
Want to learn more?
http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id=DA1D4B04-C70E-422F-B91C-223C1F32BEE0