SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Mounties say it’s something they’ve only heard about in stories, but a man from Port Coquitlam has actually done it. He’s been charged after police busted his scheme for evading tolls on the Golden Ears Bridge.
An off duty officer crossing the Golden Ears Bridge in December noticed a Geo Metro with no plates in front of him. But once the driver crossed the bridge, the plate magically appeared again.
Surrey Constable Scotty Schumann says it’s the type of thing you only hear about in urban legends. “The accused person had taped a wire to the licence plate and then ran that wire through the vehicle up to the driver’s seat and made a little loop at the end so that he could manipulate the plate up and down simply by pulling on the wire.”
He says it’s the most creative way he’s seen a driver try and avoid paying the toll. “The other ways that I’ve seen people avoid tolls or potentially be able to avoid tolls is by obscuring their plate as opposed to manipulating it. I would say this is unique or out of the ordinary.”
The 49-year-old driver has been charged with two counts of fraud under $5,000. RCMP are applying to have the man’s Geo seized.