Speeding season is upon us.
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 (km/h) 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.
READ MORE: Need for speed: Motorcycle clocked at almost double the speed limit on Coquihalla
There is nothing new about young people, mostly men, doing stupid things with motor vehicles. Just about everyone has a story of a near miss or a top speed.
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.
May is identified as high risk driving month by the RCMP, because it is the start of spring, and people just can’t help themselves.
The Coquihalla in particular is irresistible to high-risk drivers. In May 2019, a driver was caught going 240 km/h on the Coq. In April 2021, the driver of a Corvette was pulled over after hitting 243 km/h. And this month, a man from Washington was arrested after going 262 km/h on the Coq. (What vehicle can hit 262 km/h? His Alfa Romeo Giulia was impounded.)
High-risk driving like this isn’t just dangerous for the driver, the selfish behaviour puts everybody at risk.
The message from RCMP Chief Supt. Holly Turton in charge of B.C. Highway Patrol is simple, if too often overlooked.
“Slow down, obey speed limits, wear your seatbelt, drive defensively, drive sober and free of distractions.”
We do not want to have to report on another person dying needlessly because of dangerous driving.
– Black Press Media
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