City
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.
Discussion
45 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
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.
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.
Next.
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.
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.
Too bad about the drunk part, though.
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 <i>180</i>. 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.
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.
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).
It's going to be there if you get there ten minutes later.
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.
"Drive as if everyone else is an idiot."
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.
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.
Screw that. This jackass sociopath should have his license taken away for the rest of his natural life.
Good to see so many passionate drivers out there. Let's hope the courts do more to curb this sort of driving behaviour.
Can't blame the guy. Probably needed a few drinks to take his mind off how bad his life has turned out
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.
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.
The closest all night bus is over a one hour walk.
How much would it cost to run one all night bus up and down yonge once an hour.