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You shall not pass ... for free Independent salesman given hefty $1,725 fine for crossing Deh Cho Bridge
Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, July 24, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When Jean Labrecque came upon the Deh Cho Bridge after a 6,000-km drive from Boston, he wasn't expecting to deal with the trolls that hide under it.
The trolls, or weigh-in-motion scales under the pavement, measure all vehicles crossing the bridge.
Most people travelling across the bridge in a private vehicle don't have to worry about the scales, but for commercial vehicles it's a different story.
According to the Department of Transportation's (DOT) website, "registered owners of all commercial vehicles over 4,500 kg will be subject to a toll." The amount of the toll depends on the number of axles on the vehicle and whether the driver is paying for a single crossing, or has a monthly remittance.
Labrecque, an independent salesman with an American company that markets ATV's, made his first trip North from Boston in a privately-rented pick-up truck towing his own trailer. His licence was private, and his plates were private.
With that in mind, he didn't consider having to pay the toll for the Deh Cho Bridge, an assumption that ended up costing him $1,725 in fines.
When he arrived at the bridge on Saturday, he paused and waited for the highway patrolman to meet him. Construction crews were working on the bridge, which Labrecque thought was the reason for the hold up, but when the patrolman arrived near Labrecque's truck he told him he had to pay the toll.
"I told the patrolman, who was very nice, that I wasn't commercial and had private plates," said Labrecque.
He was told that because he had graphics on the outside of his trailer, that made him a commercial vehicle.
"The guy told me to follow him, and I was escorted across the bridge, then he took all my information. He said my truck was over 4,500 kg and I told him no way."
Labrecque told the Yellowknifer his truck, trailer, and the ATV inside the trailer weighed 4,000 kg. When he followed up with the Department of Transportation on Monday, he was shown an image of his truck and trailer, and was told they weighed 5,700 kg.
"There is no way that's physically true," he said, adding he had never heard of sensors weighing vehicles crossing a bridge.
Michael Conway, Yellowknife's regional superintendent for the DOT, said the technology has been in use for nearly 20 years and is the same used for the weigh scales large commercial vehicles report to.
Conway also explained the difference between private and commercial vehicles.
"A commercial vehicle means a motor vehicle used for business purposes. If you have a business, or you're the sole proprietor, or even the if you're the Avon lady you're commercial," he said.
Labrecque said he found the fine outrageous.
"If it had been $100 or something like that I would have paid it to save the trouble," he said. "I even offered to pay the toll money but I am not paying $1,725."
His ticket reads 'failure to pay or arrange to pay tolls,' but Labrecque told Yellowknifer he offered to pay the toll and was told he couldn't.
The fine is so substantial to give incentive to travelers to pay the toll in advance, Conway explained.
"The idea is designed so people will pay the toll."
Labrecque said he hadn't seen any signage warning him of the potential fine, but according to Conway, the department has signs at the border, the scale at Enterprise, and before the bridge.
"Everybody knows about the toll," he said.
The only option for Labrecque other than paying a fine or appearing in court was to drive to the weigh scale in Enterprise and take pictures of the weight of his truck at each axle, and with the trailer. On Monday, he told Yellowknifer he planned to do so, as he doesn't believe his truck weighs that much.
"This ticket should not be given to me," he said. "It's an injustice to give me the ticket when I don't deserve it at all. I want to do business and spend money here."
Labrecque has travelled across Alberta for work, but this was his first trip to Yellowknife. He said he comes across many toll bridges on his travels and has never been told his vehicle is commercial until now.
"I don't stop at any scale in Canada or the United States because I'm not allowed, I don't weigh enough to have to stop," he said.
Labrecque, who has dual-citizenship in Canada and the U.S., plans to hire a lawyer if the photographs at Enterprise don't work since he won't be making the 6,000-km trip back to Fort Providence to appear in court.
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