With fewer drivers on the road in the coronavirus pandemic, police in the Toronto region have charged no less than 150 people with street racing or stunt racing — including a 19-year-old driving 191 mph.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has observed an increase in “stunt driving” cases.
An OPP officer pulled over a 19-year-old together with the Queen Elizabeth Highway in Ontario for driving 308 kph.
“This is the fastest speed that I’ve ever heard of,” said OPP Sergeant Kerry Schmidt in a video posted on Periscope.
Schmidt noted that the speed limit is 100 kph (62 mph), and there are locations where it reaches 110 kph. The driver was going three times above the speed limit.
“This is absolutely horrible for anyone to be going those kinds of speeds,” Schmidt stated.
The driver has been charged with street racing and criminal dangerous driving, and his license was suspended for a week and his father’s car was impounded for a week, Schmidt said. Licenses are automatically suspended for a week and cars are automatically impounded for a week for this kind of violation in Ontario.
Another 19-year-old passenger was in the car at the time, and both were released at the scene.
Other places have also seen more speeding during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Traffic analytics firm INRIX reported that drivers in cities in the US such as Chicago and Los Angeles are reaching speeds approximately 75% higher than the typical speeds prior to the pandemic.
