Canada: Man pulled over in Barbie Jeep for drunk driving; banned from the road

Commuters in Prince George, British Columbia, got an unusual sight earlier this month when a grown man rolled into traffic in a bright pink Barbie Jeep Wrangler. The toy-sized vehicle, built for kids, was being driven by a man whose licence had already been suspended.

The driver, Kasper Lincoln, had borrowed the Barbie Jeep from his roommate’s daughter. His ride did not last long. Police spotted him near 15th Avenue and Nicholson Street on September 5 around 9 a.m. and decided it was simply too strange to ignore.

“While this may seem like something that should have flown under the radar, it was kind of out of the ordinary, as well as this is a busy area during morning commute and put other drivers on the road at risk, as well that particular driver himself,” said Jennifer Cooper, media relations officer with the Prince George RCMP.

She explained that drivers are not used to scanning the road for tiny electric Barbie trucks.
“Motorists aren't used to looking out for someone kind of at that level, the toy car level. So it was enough to start a traffic stop.”

Once officers stopped Lincoln, they suspected he had been drinking. Two breath tests came back over the legal limit. He was arrested for prohibited driving, hit with a 90-day ban, and given a December court date. The Barbie Jeep was returned to its rightful owner, a little girl who likely never imagined her toy would be involved in a police case.

Lincoln said he was only on his way to buy a slurpee after just rolling out of bed.
“I didn’t think you could get a DUI in a Barbie truck,” he told local news. “It’s not like it was a high-speed chase. I waited until it was safe, and when I crossed the road, I was doing my hand signals.”

Police saw things differently. To them, the pink Jeep may have been whimsical, but it was still a traffic hazard.