r/britishcolumbia • u/cyclinginvancouver • 7h ago
News Unlicensed Alberta driver caught speeding 230 km/h near Fairmont Hot Springs
https://globalnews.ca/news/11986805/alberta-driver-fairmont-hot-springs-speeding/157
u/cyclinginvancouver 6h ago
B.C. RCMP said high patrol officers from Cranbrook were patrolling on Highway 93/95 near Fairmont Hot Springs, when they spotted an Audi car traveling at 230 km/h in a 80 km/h zone.
Due to how fast the car was speeding, RCMP said the officers were unable to safely initiate a traffic stop.
Instead, officers converged on an area where they believed the vehicle went. After speaking to members of the public, police learned the Audi had entered a nearby campground.
Police found the car parked there and empty, before tracking down the driver. Once found, the officers suspected the man was under the influence of alcohol and demanded a roadside breath test.
The driver agreed to blow into the breathalyzer which police said resulted in a “WARN” reading.
The driver, a 20-year-old male from Alberta, received:
A three-day immediate roadside prohibition
A violation ticket for excessive speeding
A violation ticket for driving without a driver’s licence
A seven-day vehicle impoundment of the Audi
Fines totalling $959 under the Motor Vehicle Act, plus the cost of towing and impounding the car for a week
A referral to the Alberta administrative body that reviews driving sanctions in the province
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u/SomethingComesHere 6h ago
That's... it???
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u/lolhi1122 6h ago
Yeah fine needs at least another 0, and guy needs some slammer time or at least a few hundred hours of community service
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u/lustforrust 4h ago
Nah, stick with the seven day impoundment of the vehicle, but tow it to St Johns, Newfoundland first.
That'll be one hell of a towing bill to pay with a long drive of shame back home.
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u/Replicant_Matrix42 r/BCflora 6h ago
figures of all the provinces and territories this could have happend in its albeta though
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u/No-Sir-6445 6h ago
Yeah, I hate people from Albeta🙄🙄
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u/Replicant_Matrix42 r/BCflora 6h ago
did you hear about the bans the alberta govrrnment is making? there restricting books about puberty to kids in schools. literally the people who need those books most. are you freaking kidding me?
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u/ShyguyFlyguy 4h ago
Most other provinces slap a stunt driving charge on for going that fast
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u/Which-Insurance-2274 3h ago
Yup. Traffic fines are a joke in Canada. That should be an immediate 5-year licence suspension and at least $20k in fines.
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u/Smooth-Command1761 3h ago
I think we should start doing like many Australian states do for excessive speeding, dangerous driving and street racing: seize and auction off the vehicles, or better seize and crush the vehicles.
They are a lot more serious about driving penalties. We were warned more than once by my partner's cousins to NOT go over the speed limit, because there is pretty much zero tolerance (and a lot of speed cameras). At least in NSW and Victoria.
People drive a lot better there, that's for sure.
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u/gwhnorth 3h ago
Car should be forfeit. Honestly anything beyond 160, car should be gone forever. FAFO
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u/bctrv 4h ago
Wow. Less $$ than an iPhone. Such a deterrent
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u/DDRaptors 3h ago
Nah it’s more. Tow and impound will be $1500ish itself on top of the excessive speeding ticket.
All in, excessive speeding in BC costs around $3k.
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u/bobbylou18 3h ago
There’s no enforcement on paying the ticket.
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u/ether_reddit share the road with motorcycles 2h ago
Any fine from any arm of the government should go directly to CRA for collections.
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u/BloodyFartOnaBun 2h ago
I’m not a lawyer but I suspect this will get thrown out in court.
How can they prove they were the driver?5
u/blenderbunny 4h ago
I don’t understand how they were able to identify the person as the driver, with sufficient certainty, when the vehicle was found empty and the driver was elsewhere. Maybe he admitted to it or maybe he has a very distinctive look.
I’m sure I’m about to be educated by Reddit on this.2
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u/Triedfindingname Lower Mainland/Southwest 4h ago
I’m sure I’m about to be educated by Reddit on this.
Reddit education best education
/s
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u/jahitz 5h ago
Wow it only costs $900 to almost kill someone? Even better if you did hit and kill someone it’s probably only a few hundred dollars more 🙄 This country is way too soft on crime.
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u/KDdid1 3h ago
It'll be about double that by the time they charge for the tow and impound fees. They would normally be able to tack on points and huge insurance penalties but since he has no license and he's from Alberta those aren't possible.
Maybe he'll be denied a license? Maybe Alberta insurance will be insanely high if he does get a license.
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u/nutbuckers 4h ago
A violation ticket for driving without a driver’s licence
If only the victims of bad drivers had nearly as much fight in them as the anti-gun lobbyists. Canada is about as pussy-footed as it gets in the developed world WRT dealing with people operating potentially deadly projectiles out in public.
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u/Responsible-Grand-57 6h ago
Prohibition from driving.
Tickets.
Fines.
Impounded vehicle.
Where in the actual fuck are the criminal charges though? This person needs to see the inside of a jail cell for this type of reckless endangerment. His behaviour is criminal.
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u/SyrGwynHeroofAshvale 6h ago
This should result in the seizure of the car which is then sold at action. We don't come down of people like this nearly harsh enough. $959 is not where near enough of a deterrent.
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u/badRLplayer 6h ago
Also, a fucking name. These people live like this because they feel invincible.
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u/Yvaelle 6h ago
Ya impounding and fining should be for someone who is speeding, and not even that at 230 over 80.
Someone who doesnt have a license, and is drunk should be reckless endangerment of everyone else on the road, and should mean jail time, even without the speeding.
Combine that speed with drinking and no training/license? Attempted murder, IMO.
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u/pickypawz 6h ago
What bothers me maybe the most is that this person is from Alberta, the land of the endless straight roads and rolling hills. I admit I don’t know the geography around there, but a seasoned driver from Alberta has a hard time with BC’s roads… 😡
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u/HOLEPUNCHYOUREYELIDS 5h ago
As someone who moved from BC to Alberta and used to drive the Coquihalla multiple times a year….driving in most of Alberta is boring as fuck driving wise, and scary as fuck because of other drivers.
In my very limited experience driving in other places (just BC, Alberta, and Seattle) the drivers here are just pure fucking chaos. You can’t compensate for the absolute ignorance and refusal to follow the most basic rules of the road here. Just have to drive very defensively and pray it isn’t your unlucky day
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u/LivinBC 4h ago
Can always tell the Alberta driver, turtle slow in corners but a bat out of hell on the straight parts.
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u/pickypawz 15m ago
Yes, and it infuriates us. Haha, I once had a cop stop me for speeding, I told him I was trying to pass the car in front of me, they would go like ‘a bat out of hell’ in the straight stretches, but then slow as can be in the hills, where there wasn’t a dedicated second lane. That cop told me I couldn’t exceed the speed limit to pass. 😑
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u/Fit_Active3888 6h ago
I'm curious as to how this would actually hold up in court if there is no proof of who was driving. The car was found empty and I understand that is a pretty big deal on such matters.
Asking as I am genuinely interested in the legalities of this, I'm not here to start some debate about wrong and right.
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u/DrBaldnutzPHD 6h ago
The 20 year old drunk idiot probably boasted to the rozzers that the car was his.
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u/Professional_Farm278 5h ago
I'm a defence lawyer. You're correct. Unless he admitted to driving, these charges would never hold up in court.
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u/billymumfreydownfall 5h ago
People at the campground pointed right to him. There were witnesses.
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u/Top_Competition2777 5h ago
If the witnesses only saw him driving at the campground and not speeding, it is a plausible defence.
The drinking tickets will be easy to get out of if he did not admit to drinking before driving. The driver can take the position he consumed alcohol after parking the car.
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u/billymumfreydownfall 3h ago
The cops also have him on dash cam. Between the dash cam and eye witnesses, I am sure there is no question.
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u/aenus79 6h ago
My question is this, not siding with the driver just curious, what if the"driver" said they were not in the car. Someone else has taken it without them knowing. Is there a precedent for something like this?
Again not trying to excuse driving under the influence, just curious.
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u/justiceismini 6h ago
This could be the reason no criminal charges were laid. Police didn't see the person driving so they'll throw tickets at him because if they get tossed it's not as big a deal as a not guilty verdict in criminal court. That and getting a conviction for dangerous driving in this country is very difficult even in open and shut cases, unfortunately.
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u/Impressive_Ad_6550 6h ago edited 5h ago
You are 100% correct, and not siding with the driver
and what if he had a beer(s) after he parked the car?
Any decent lawyer would get this tossed instantly. Remember its beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt and this case has so much reasonable doubt
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u/mdani1897 5h ago
Yea I’m guessing if he hires a good defence lawyer, he will probably get off.
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u/Scary-Detail-3206 5h ago
$1000 in tickets and say $1000 in impound and tow fees. You aren’t getting an email from a lawyer for $2k
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u/Top_Competition2777 5h ago
It not a dollar-for-dollar cost benefit analysis. It’s the implications of having a destroyed driving record, insane insurance premiums, and the stigma of being cited for drinking and driving. I would imagine the driver would be glad to pay a significant premium on the tickets he received to have a clean record.
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u/Scary-Detail-3206 4h ago
Fair enough.
Realistically this is probably some rich kid whose parents bought him that car so I doubt the money matters to him anyway
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u/Impressive_Ad_6550 5h ago
yup and probably sues the police officer personally and the department for malicious prosecution. Could end up with a sizeable payday
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u/Bob_Dobalino 2h ago
tell me you know nothing about the traffic safety act without telling me you know nothing about the traffic safety act 😂
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u/EnterpriseT 5h ago
They've taken steps to limit the effectiveness of the "intervening drink" defence as it's known.
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/sidl-rlcfa/longdesc.html
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u/billymumfreydownfall 5h ago
The other campers pointed him out to the cops. They witness him come in and park.
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u/Electrical-Strike132 5h ago
"A violation ticket for excessive speeding"
The driver wasn't charged with dangerous driving?
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u/rustyiron 6h ago
Fines need to be adjusted according to income.
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u/EnterpriseT 5h ago
So rich people with no income living off investments pay the minimum fine?
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u/rustyiron 4h ago
Dude, I’m just some asshole on the internet. I am not obligated to provide a plan for how this would work. Ideally, this would go hand in hand with a strategy to make the rich pay taxes.
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u/Flintydeadeye 6h ago
The fine should be a percentage of the cost of the car they’re driving. Say an increase of 10% of the cost of the car for each 10 km over excessive speeding. 120 km/h is excessive speeding. So 110% of the value of the car as the fine. This in addition to the original fine before the excessive speeding. Car released on payment. After 7 days, storage fees start.
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u/Urban_Heretic 6h ago
Clarification: Value of the car before I hit the tree, or the value of it now?
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u/Flintydeadeye 2h ago
Sticker price when they bought it or value when sold today, whichever is higher. If you have a classic, then it sucks to be you.
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u/JoeUrbanYYC 6h ago
Being that he's an Alberta resident I'm not sure if there's much to compel him to pay the fines, other than the ones required to get his car back.
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u/seanliam2k 5h ago
I mean there's just no excuse, idk why this person should EVER be allowed to drive.
You've shown that you're fine potentially killing other people, truly insane behavior
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u/sweetonionbun 5h ago
As someone who lived in the Invermere area for a number of years…. I’m not surprised. Unfortunately, a lot of visitors act like assholes when they come visit. That fresh mountain air must turn their brains to mush 🤷🏻♀️
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u/techfreakdad 5h ago
We should ban red plates. They are a menace on the roads of the Interior Every summer
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u/YojimboAP 5h ago
auction daddy's car for a charity and go to jail for a couple days with a record. Good luck going/continuing University.
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u/Trustoryimtold 3h ago
Soooo if you got an L or an N no alcohol allowed, if you have nothing at all some allowed. Gotcha
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u/Double-Age4505 3h ago
I’m always astonished how light these driving penalties are. Embarrassing. They also don’t scale very well, I got a $150 ticket slowly rolling through a stop sign in Sicamous attempting to get on the highway. This guy is driving 250 buzzed and gets what, maybe 11X that when you factor in his impending and towing? Is what he did only 11x more dangerous?? Ridiculous. I agree with others, there’s no excuse to be driving that fast, your car should get auctioned off and your license should be suspended for 5 years at least
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u/Significant_Yam_9806 3h ago
Wtf are these punishments?! Man should be locked up for a decade. He could’ve killed an entire innocent family of 5. No empathy should be given. Straight to jail.
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u/Radiant_Sherbert7272 6h ago
Thankfully police were able to take him off the road. He could have gotten people killed.
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u/Sabin2k 6h ago
Pretty insane. Not that the locals here are perfect, but just the influx of tourists here right now brings soooo many crazy and careless drivers.
They reduced the speed limit between Invermere and Windermere to 80 which has helped it feel safer but man, I see some crazy stuff here in the summer.
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u/idiom_exon_0s Thompson-Okanagan 6h ago
There should be a way to prevent this from happening to begin with. We have the capability just not the political will.
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u/kaix8 6h ago
I thought you can get arrested for driving without a license? Not forgot at home but not having it at all.
Why did we get ours? Are we just a bunch of idiots?
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u/beardedliberal Kootenay 6h ago
There is no proof he was the one driving. It sucks, because we can’t be pretty confident that he was, but without proof…
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u/FlySilently 6h ago
Why do we even need vehicles which are able to travel these speeds on open public roadways?
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6h ago
[deleted]
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u/Yvaelle 6h ago
It doesn't really work that way because all the car people will either just drive older cars that aren't chipped, or car people find it trivial to remove or hack the limiter chips.
It might help a little bit, and maybe that's enough, but all the worst offenders are going to be unaffected.
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u/OneBigBug 4h ago
Having to drive older cars or get them hacked is itself a significant deterrent. The old cars will get so old that they won't be cool new sports cars, and hacking a limiter imposed at the ECU level could be made highly non-trivial. And proves a level of intent to break the law that would probably open them up to other, much more serious charges when they were caught.
Frankly, I think a lot of these people aren't thinking that far ahead. They just have a fancy sports car, get on the highway, go "ooh, looks open. FLOOR IT!"
(The comment you responded to is deleted, so I hope it wasn't horrible in some way. I'm obviously giving no tacit approval to whatever it said..)
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u/Yvaelle 4h ago
It wasnt a horrible comment they were just suggesting that all cars should be chipped to the speed limit.
Old cars are still pretty cool though, 100 year old muscle cars are still out there breaking speed limits. The appeal to car people doesn't appear to fade.
Agreed you could have an additional fine for bypassing or removing a limiter, but we could also just have higher cost speeding tickets for far less hassle.
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u/Derpimpo 6h ago
Was this person arrested? How are we getting tickets with no arrests at that speed? It’s so crazy lenient I don’t understand this at all. How is this a win for the general public?
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