231 km/hr on the DVP? OMG WTF BBQ!
A 29-year old Aurora man was clocked at going 141 km/hr over the speed limit on the Don Valley Parkway yesterday. Not only that, but he was allegedly driving drunk when he was pulled over just after 2 a.m. yesterday morning.
Police finally caught up to him at Hwy 404 and Finch Ave. E. John Kowal, 29, was charged with impaired driving, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and stunt driving.
His Mercedes SL600 has a base price of about $125,000 (USD) and a top speed of at least 250 km/hr. Good thing he eased off at 231 km/hr (about 144 mph). That's just crazy fast. What does he think this is, the Autobahn? The alleged speeder obviously has more money than brains.
"Since legislation was enacted in September 2007 targeting street racing and aggressive driving in Ontario, thousands of charges have been laid throughout the province," the Toronto Sun reported yesterday. "As of yesterday, Toronto had seized 726 vehicles, including yesterday's Mercedes Benz."
Since Kowal was travelling more than 50 km/hr over the posted speed limit, he also had his Merc automatically impounded for a week. According to The Globe and Mail, 726 vehicles in Toronto were impounded since Bill 203 (the provincial street-racing legislation) took effect 16 months ago.
Going almost twice the speed limit is just nuts. Mix that with a few drinks and that's a recipe for disaster. Good thing the driver was nabbed before going out of control and causing injury to himself or others.
That stretch of highway on the DVP north of Wynford Drive is relatively straight and starts going downhill a bit. It's easy to pick up speed. Once or twice I may have gone almost 120 km/hr before, but only with the flow of traffic. And with clear road conditions. And sober.
How fast have you driven up the DVP? What do you make of this alleged speed freak?
Photo by Roger Cullman.
Comments (43)
Having grown up in Aurora... his experience is likely that of giant suburban roads and police who are lax on giving speeding tickets to fancy cars. I'll never forget being pulled over by two cruisers for a 15km over ticket on Major Mack, while watching the Lexus behind me rip past us and skid through the intersection.
I also had the pleasure of being stuck for 5 hours on the 400 during the closure for the street racing incident that killed a truck driver last year... I'm thinking castration might be a worthwhile deterrent.
OHIP does not pay for castration... yet. So they should present him with the bill for towing and storage of his car.
The problem is that he may still drive even if he loses his license. The 905 provides no overnight (like TTC's Blue Night service) service, as an alternative. Maybe that is why he was driving at 2 AM drunk, no buses.
I managed just fine on GO bus for years (before VIVA) and simply stayed downtown when I couldn't catch the last... lack of transit doesn't force anyone to drink and drive, or speed; it's still their stupidity putting them behind the wheel.
I'm not sure what (or where) the requirements are for legal castration, but in Ontario, driving over the legal alcohol limit allowance is a provincial offense that is punishable by an automatic 90-day license suspension.
give him directions 2 the track. with that car, he's not planning on doing what the rest of the society's doing
I try not to hit 120km/h but driving on 401 west of Erin Mills it's just hard to realize that you're going the speed limit or even 120 with all the cars passing you. I'm pretty sure people go 150km/h on that highway.
5 years ago it had a base price of 125K USD - those cars' depreciation plummets like a rock. You could pick one up today for about ~60K USD.
Back on topic though, its a shame that because drinking is so socially acceptable, that drunk driving is also somewhat tolerated (at least compared to other crimes. IMO the penalties should be much stiffer, and in the event of a death, it should be treated as full blown murder and nothing less.
Not clear from above... was he going 141km/h or 231km/h?
In any case, you can see people like this on ANY Friday or Saturday night southbound on the DVP - say about 6-10pm. There seems to be very little policing.
Personally, I have to hand it to him - he found a time of day when it is possible to do over 40km/h on the DVP!
The real crime is him being forced to drive an SL600 at 100km/h.
Too bad about the drunk part, though.
I go 140 on the DVP on a regular basis. Regular traffic flow is about 120. If you're freaking out at 120, you're just putting others in danger.
Automobile makers should not be allowed to make cars that go that fast. And people who drive drunk and at those speeds have no regard for other peoples lives and should be banned for life from driving after the first strike. Unfortunately people think it's their right to drive and it's not it is a privilege and the government allows you to drive and purchase a vehicle. And to the fuckers who think what this guy did was cool, you should take a walk out on the DVP and wait for a car to slam into you and smear your entrails down the DVP.
At that speed, and knowing that you already had a few drinks, why even bother stopping for the police? I would have tried to get away. Unless the choppers come out, there's no way police are going to chase you at that kind of speed, especially if you get off the highway.
Clearly the only fair punishment is to trap him in the suburbs (ie Newmarket, Aurora, or *gasp* Bradford) for the next 5 years WITHOUT any possibility of driving a vehicle.
It's so easy to condemn people like this, are you really so outraged that you have to call for his castration? We have laws to deal with him, they're on the books, we don't need to dream up new and innovative ways to punish these people.
Also, stop blaming the rest of the world for providing him with the implements to fuck up so royally. Cars can go fast, most new honda accords can hit 200 with ease, if not for the limiter at 180. What next, tear down the DVP for the negligent provision of empty and enticing lanes?
Damn, shouldn't have said that. Fantino'll have it in the HTA by 2010.
The issue is about deterring the crime in the first place - clearly, the laws don't do a very good job of it and while castration probably isn't the answer, it'd probably help people think twice about drinking behind the wheel.
And for the record, I don't have as much of a problem with speeding as I do drinking and driving. I think the penalties for speeding are just fine, and the street racing laws help draw a line between being people just cruising to work too fast vs. slamming the gas and weaving in and out of traffic for thrills.
The problem is not with the guy driving 231km/h, it's the idiots who don't signal and don't look when they merge into the fast lane at 95km/h. That's why you cant drive fast in Canada, because most people shouldn't have their driver's licenses here. Drivers don't recognize the fact that if I want to drive faster than the law allows it's my problem and they shouldn't stay in the fast lane just because they're doing the speed limit. In other countries you would be run off the road if you tried to drive 95km/h on the autobahn in the fast lane.
The rules of driving are necessarily oriented to the lowest common denominator. Most people are able to competently handle a car at 120-150km/h in a straight line, but some can't, and those few can create calamity by messing up the flow of traffic. That's why they tell you to go with the flow of traffic, not necessarily the speed limit, because that's safer.
230 is obviously a special case, but something like 150km/h shouldn't be penalized so harshly if the person wasn't creating a danger (weaving, drinking etc).
What's this special magical place that everyone needs to get to so quickly? The grocery store? Your house?
It's going to be there if you get there ten minutes later.
I just got my car impounded and my license suspended for 7 days when I got caught doing 152km/h in a 100 zone near Peterborough.
If I'm convicted I'll get at least a $2000 fine as well, with the max being $10,000. How many of you have driven 152 on the 401? Not a small number, I know that because I consistently get passed doing 140.
My speed was definitely in violation of the law, and probably a least a little ill-advised but that's not equivalent to it being worthy of that kind of punishment.
It's very likely that eventually this Stunt Driving Law will be overturned on the grounds that it's against our rights as Canadians. Any police officer can have your car impounded and license suspended for 7 days without trial or a judge reviewing the evidence against you. And even if the charges are dismissed (as they are in 80% of cases) you are not reimbursed for your impound fees, or any other costs you incurred by not having access to your own vehicle.
I think people are forgetting that another reason for controlling speed is to give you greater reaction time (coupled with a sensible following distance -- but hey, you're really good at driving anyway, right?) in case some OTHER idiot messes up on the road. It's cool you're a superstar at the wheel, but remember the golden rule?
"Drive as if everyone else is an idiot."
What a chump. For $87,000 he could have had a Nissan GT-R that does 200 MPH and have left over money for booze to boot.
You're going to seriously sit here and argue that you should not be severely punished for going 152 km/h? My cousin and aunt were killed last year on the 401. Perhaps your view on what speed is appropriate will change the day you lose a family member to speeding traffic.
A slight correction for the article,
Going almost twice the speed limit is just nuts.The speed limit is 90, so twice the speed limit is 180. Add another 51 to that, and this young sociopath was going closer to thrice the speed limit.
As it stands, he's simply not fit to drive. If he rear ended a car going 90 km/h, the relative speed would be 141 km/h. There is no reason to have cars capable of these speeds on public roads.
Unless you have a grand plan on fighting this thing called "engineering" I'm afraid championing your cause to have "less than capable cars" is rather daft.
Food for thought: My 1996 four door, Toyota Corolla reached a top speed of 180 KM/H. And that was with 150 klicks on the odometer and in desperate need of an oil change.
vroom vroom sez: "Take this jackass's license away for 5 years."
Screw that. This jackass sociopath should have his license taken away for the rest of his natural life.
Sounds like a plan. But if he decides to drive anyway and can get behind the wheel of another fast car, that "natural life" is likely to be cut short pretty soon.
Good to see so many passionate drivers out there. Let's hope the courts do more to curb this sort of driving behaviour.
The CBC just reported that a cottage country golf club is facing 34 charges relating to serving drinks to three youngsters who died last summer in a car crash in which police said both alcohol and speed were involved.
John Kowal is 29 years old and lives in Aurora with his parents. The guy is 29 and still living at home, all the way up in Aurora! Bad combination. The benz was probably his daddy's car.
Can't blame the guy. Probably needed a few drinks to take his mind off how bad his life has turned out
Fast is not a synonym of dangerous.
I have seen police car running over 200 KM/H on the 407 (without flashing its lights).
The police has no right to impose a law that themself are unable to keep!
The speed limit in Canada are too low and innacceptable.
Fining drivers is theft!
Take away cars is theft!
suspend driving license is abuse!
Next time you are under a radar, do like me:
don't stop, run as fast as you can to avoid the police. I tried once and I escaped!
These policeman don't even deserve you stop and waste your time for them.
I was once driving at about 138 KM/H on the 407, when I saw a police car and my radar detector rang. I accelerated to maximum speed (200 KM/H) being followed by the police car that slowly was more and more near. I had to drive on emergency lanes to avoid decellering and being caught. I escaped, thank's God.
If speed is dangerous, why are the police taking risk to other drivers by driving at even faster speed to make money? Sometimes these pursuits end very bad...worse than letting fast driver to drive carefully.
If you want to kill a pedestrian, you can do it legaly at 40 KM/H. The police prefers you kill legaly than you drive safely but illegaly.
Its not people freaking out at 120 that puts people in danger its the inconciderate idiots going over the limit putting people at risk. It doenst matter hjow good or confident of a driver you are the limits are to reduce damage when accidents do happen and when your going over the limit the odds are someone will die!! Its stupid people who think it is ok to speed just because they can handle their car at high speeds.
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