Novice Penticton driver takes taxi home after caught doing 200 km/h in Mustang

The Penticton woman behind the wheel of a newly purchased 2018 Ford Mustang told the police officer who pulled her over earlier this month she was testing the engine.

The BC Highway Patrol clocked the 39-year-old woman doing 200 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on Highway 1 at Mackay Road in Laidlaw west of Hope around 4:30 p.m. Feb. 4.

“We’ve heard this excuse before and it does not hold up,” RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Michael McLaughlin said in a media release issued today, Feb. 20. 

“Speed limits are necessary because we all share the road. Doing double the limit is a serious danger to everyone around you and must come with consequences.” 

And here are the consequences for the Class 7 novice driver:

A ticket for excessive speed (over 60 km/h), section 148(1) of the BC Motor Vehicle Act, with a fine of $483;

A ticket for failing to display an “N,” section 30.10(4) of the BC Motor Vehicle Act Regulations, with a fine of $109;

The cost of a tow truck and a seven-day impound (at the owner’s expense, and far away from home);

At least three years of high-risk driver premiums and escalating insurance that will bring the total costs to about $2,500.

RCMP said the driver and her passenger were also on the hook for the taxi ride home.