Driver was late for school, going 174 km/h

The young man offered the OPP officer an earnest excuse roadside — he was late for school.

Unfortunately for him, that rationale didn’t engender any sympathy. That tends to be the case when you’re caught driving 174 km/h in a 100-km/h zone.

The 22-year-old man from Mississauga was Fort Erie-bound on the QEW in a 2008 BMW when he was pulled over near Jordan Road in Lincoln just after 10 a.m. Monday.

“If he was worried about being late, he made the situation a lot worse — these are serious charges,” Const. Rob Knight of the OPP said. “If someone is running late, it’s a poor idea to drive like that.

“At this time of day, the highway is shared with quite a few other motorists. That increases an already dangerous situation. As the speeds go up, so does the chance of catastrophic injuries to themselves and others. That’s a fact.”

In another incident a couple of hours later, a 27-year-old St. Catharines man was clocked at 145 km/h in an 80-km/h zone on Highway 58 in Thorold at 3:43 p.m. The OPP didn’t catch up with his Mazda until it was on Highway 406.

“That is a very dangerous speed in that location,” Knight said. “The highway has curves. There is a ramp. It is an 80-km/h zone for a reason.

In addition to stunt driving charges, police impounded both vehicles for seven days. The men also had their driver’s licences suspended at the roadside for seven days.

The stops are part of a trend on 400series highways in Niagara.

“As part of my duties, I am the officer at intake court, and I have sworn a lot of informations (court documents) under the Highway Traffic Act for stunt driving recently as the weather and driving conditions have improved.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing a lot of people who are choosing to go way too fast and drive at unsafe speeds.”