The stupid season for speeders is here and only going to get a lot worse.
An 18-year-old novice driver from Chilliwack might have thought he was auditioning for the new Fast and the Furious movie on the Coquihalla Highway recently, but his story ended in Merritt.
The teenager on a Suzuki was clocked on May 14 at a top speed of 209 kilometres per hour and had failed to stop at a speed check two days prior. When he got off the exit in Merritt, police were waiting for him. He tried to make a U-turn and flee but he wiped out and was arrested.
There is nothing new about young people, mostly men, doing stupid things with motor vehicles.
But all too many families also have tragic stories of young people dying while driving like this. An average of 111 people a year die in high-risk driving collisions in B.C., according to ICBC data.
With nicer weather arriving in May, it seems to signal the start of high risk driving.
Meanwhile, Agassiz RCMP officers impounded a vehicle going 100 km/h in a 50 km/h zone past the Agassiz RCMP Community Policing Office on May 9.
Related story: Driver going twice the speed limit busted in front of Agassiz RCMP detachment
The driver was clocked at double the speed limit at about 10:30 p.m. According to Sgt. Mike Sargent, the Agassiz RCMP’s spokesperson, the driver was issued a ticket and the vehicle was impounded for seven days.
“Police would like to remind the public to be mindful of posted speed limits and consider the safety of those residing in our local communities and travelling along our roadways,” Sargent stated.
There are numerous examples on the Island as well, with surely more in store, unfortunately, because people don’t seem to get the message. If you’re driving a ridiculous speed, it’s just unnecessarily putting your own life in danger and everybody else at risk.
Related story: Vancouver Island driver fined after speed clocked at 160 km/h in a 70 zone
The first step is tougher penalties. For driving twice the speed limit, your vehicle should be impounded for a lengthy period – none of these seven-day slaps on the wrist.
– with files from the Chilliwack Progress and Agassiz Observer