Expired temporary licence plate leads to four charges for a northern Ont. driver

An undated police image of an Ontario Provincial Police cruiser in a rural area. (File photo/Ontario Provincial Police/Facebook)

Ontario Provincial Police laid multiple charges against an Elliot Lake man after an automated license plate recognition system alerted officers to a vehicle with an expired licence plate on Friday.

The incident occurred on Highway 108 in Elliot Lake at about 1 p.m. on Feb. 6 when officers were on a routine patrol and received the notification.

“This alert was in relation to a black pickup truck being operated with an expired temporary plate,” said OPP in a news release.

The officers then initiated a traffic stop on the pickup.

The 33-year-old driver was charged with driving a motor vehicle with no current valid permit, failing to have an insurance card, operating an unsafe vehicle and driving with an insecure load.

The pickup truck was also towed from the scene by police order.

In an email to CTV News, OPP Const. Phil Young confirmed that the temporary plate was “very expired” and had been invalid for many years and the truck was not “certified to be roadworthy.”

“As for the insecure load, there were items in the back of the truck that were being transported against regulations,” Young added.

The accused is scheduled to answer to the charges in court on April 20.