Neighbours’ eyes lead to two-year driving ban for B.C. man who flouted law again

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Licence-plate scanners may be the best tool for police to find prohibited drivers, but it was old-fashioned tattling by neighbours that got a driver off the road for two years.

Gerry Kruks of Scotch Creek, B.C., pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of driving while prohibited.

“There’s not a heavy police presence (in North Shuswap) to monitor drivers,” Crown lawyer Chris Balison told provincial court in Kamloops.

“It’s no secret he’s bound by driving prohibitions.”

Residents saw the retired heavy-equipment operator driving last year and reported him to police.

Kruks, 75, has been convicted three times of driving while impaired. He has also been handed driving bans under immediate roadside-prohibition laws.

Balison said that despite that record, Kruks has not been convicted in the past for driving while prohibited.

The Crown asked for $3,000 in fines and a five-year driving ban.

Defence lawyer Kevin Church argued for a lesser driving ban, in the one- to two-year range.

Provincial court Judge Stella Frame told Kruks that if he drives again, he will be going to jail.

“You can’t continue to drive because you live in an isolated area and thumb your nose at the law,” she said.

Frame handed Kruks a $3,000 fine and two-year driving ban. (Kamloops This Week)