Talk about pedal to the metal! The Ontario Provincial Police's Ottawa detachment tweeted on Friday morning that they caught a driver speeding almost 200 km/h on Highway 417.
Shortly after 6:30 a.m. on June 24, the OPP East Region tweeted that they caught a driver going 198 km/h on Highway 417. The speed limit on Highway 417 ranges from 100 to 110 km/h, meaning that the driver was going nearly twice as fast as the posted speed.
Once pulled over, police say they also found that the driver had no motor vehicle insurance. The driver was charged with stunt driving, careless driving and operating a motor vehicle with no insurance.
Pictures posted to Twitter show a radar gun reading "198 km/h" and a grey Honda passenger vehicle being towed.
\u201c#OttawaOPP stopped this driver going 198 km/h on #Hwy417. Driver charged with Stunt Driving, Careless Driving, and Operate Motor Vehicle No Insurance. DL suspended and vehicle impounded. #SlowDown ^ s.c.\u201d— OPP East Region (@OPP East Region) 1656067030
As per Ontario's latest stunt driving rules introduced last fall, the driver's vehicle was immediately impounded and their licence was suspended for 30 days.
In Ontario, anyone found going 50 km/h or more over a speed limit of 80 km/h or higher can be charged with stunt driving. And with added requirements that came into effect in April, drivers charged with stunt driving must also complete a driver's improvement course, pay a fine between $2,000 and $10,000 and could even face up to six months in jail. Yikes!
The stricter stunt driving laws come alongside the province's aim of cracking down on unsafe and aggressive driving through the Moving Ontarians More Safely Act. In March, the Ontario Provincial Police said that speeding reached a 10-year high in 2021, leading to 81 deaths last year.
