Image: BC Highway Patrol

By Mike Vanden Bosch

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22-year-old B.C. man uses gate latch to close driver-side door on a beat up Acura: BC Highway Patrol

Jan 20, 2026 | 9:26 AM

CHRISTINA LAKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Call it extremely creative, but police say a beat up Acura has been removed from provincial highways and roads after a motorist was caught using a gate latch to close its driver-side door.

The unusual discovery unfolded on Saturday, January 9 at about 4 p.m., while a BCHP officer was doing speed enforcement on Highway 3 near Christina Lake. The officer stopped a grey Acura clocked at 130 km/h in an 80 zone.

What began as an excessive speeding incident took on an added dimension due to the wretched condition of the vehicle.

BCHP spokesperson Corporal Michael McLaughlin says among a long list of required repairs, the rear window was missing and had been replaced with rebar and duct tape, and the driver’s door could not stay closed and was held together by a welded latch from a garden gate.

“It’s amazing that this particular car could go that fast without disintegrating,” said Cpl. McLaughlin. “The owner had put in some effort to hammer out the dents and spray paint the repairs, but his car was not roadworthy. It looked like it had been chewed up by Robosaurus.”

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It’s not the first time police have stopped a vehicle held together with duct tape and wishful thinking, but the vehicle was naturally deemed unsafe for the road.

The driver, a 22-year-old Kelowna man, was issued:

• A ticket for excessive speed (between 41 and 60 km/h), section 148(1) of the BC Motor Vehicle Act ($368);
• The cost of a tow truck and a seven-day vehicle impound at his expense;
• High-risk driver premiums and escalating insurance costs for a minimum of three years;
• A Notice and Order requiring the vehicle’s removal from the road until all defects are fixed and the vehicle passes an inspection (all at the owner’s expense).

“Any time you modify an essential component of your vehicle including door locks, windows, steering, brakes, or suspension, you need to get that vehicle inspected,” said Cpl. McLaughlin. “And if you’re driving in a vehicle that’s obviously not roadworthy, you probably shouldn’t speed. Police can’t ignore that.”