SURREY, B.C. - A B.C. provincial court judge has dealt a blow to Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger's defence, saying police legally obtained the accused drunk driver's breath samples.

Kroeger, whose real name is Chad Turton, was stopped for speeding in his red, $175,000 Lamborghini in suburban Surrey at about 2 a.m. on June 22, 2006.

He faces charges of impaired driving and driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08. Tests revealed Kroeger's blood-alcohol level was at 0.14.

His lawyer, Marvin Stern, argued an RCMP officer conducted an unlawful search when he asked Kroeger to blow into his face after detecting the smell of alcohol and that the evidence should be excluded.

Stern also argued the Mountie stayed far too long at the scene with Kroeger while arrangements were made to tow the Lamborghini and failed to obtain two further breath samples "as soon as practicable'' as required by the Criminal Code.

But provincial court Justice Peder Gulbrandsen disagreed, saying the obligation to obtain samples as soon as practicable does not mean they be obtained as soon as possible.

Gulbrandsen said that although Kroeger did not provide the first breath sample at the Surrey RCMP detachment until an hour and 56 minutes after he was stopped, there were important reasons for the delay and that the officers involved acted reasonably.

He said the Mounties did not have the means to remove the singer's car from the scene without Kroeger remaining there.

"It was obvious that Mr. Turton was very concerned about his car,'' Gulbrandsen said in his written judgment. "He was not being unreasonable. It was worth about $175,000 and was not a vehicle that most towing companies handle very often, if ever.''

He said it's not surprising that it would take a while to determine how the Lamborghini had to be transported, how much it would cost and what method of payment the company would take before towing it to Kroeger's house.

"It made sense to allow this transaction to occur before he was taken away,'' the judge wrote. "(The officer) was understandably uncomfortable supervising the transfer of over $200 in cash without making sure that receipts were issued to Mr. Turton.''

Kroeger's case was adjourned to March 12.