Cops fined a learner driver and seized her dad’s SUV after she was caught speeding near Merritt this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BC Highway Patrol clocked a 2026 Honda Pilot on the Coquihalla Highway at 168 km\/h in a 120 km\/h zone on July 11. Police pulled the vehicle over, finding the 20-year-old learner driver had five passengers in the car, according to a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officers impounded the SUV for seven days and ticketed the driver for excessive speeding, but police noted that she didn’t exceed the one-passenger limit for learners because they were all family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a reminder to everyone that just because something is technically legal, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a good idea,\u201d Cpl. Michael McLaughlin said in the BC Highway Patrol news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Williams Lake woman’s fees don’t stop at the $368 ticket. Police said she will pay nearly $2,500 in high-risk driver premiums while the towing and impound fees typically fall on the owner, who happens to be her father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLearner drivers do not have the demonstrated skills to safely drive a large number of passengers, which is something this driver exemplified when she chose to speed,” McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Her dad’s car was towed and impounded for a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":426,"featured_media":6595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"","source":"","byline":"","published":"","updated":"","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1285,492,493],"tags":[],"region":[206,207,208,209],"class_list":["post-6594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6594\/learner-driver-clocked-nearly-50km-h-over-limit-on-coquihalla\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Learner driver clocked nearly 50km\/h over limit on Coquihalla","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6594\/learner-driver-clocked-nearly-50km-h-over-limit-on-coquihalla\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6594\/learner-driver-clocked-nearly-50km-h-over-limit-on-coquihalla\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-crop_radar-168.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-crop_radar-168.jpg"},"articleSection":"Featured","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Levi Landry"}],"creator":["Levi Landry"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-07-20T21:52:28Z","datePublished":"2026-07-20T21:52:28Z","dateModified":"2026-07-20T21:52:31Z"},"rendered":"