Teen on motorcycle clocked at 110 km/h over posted limit

KELOWNA – A teen pulled over for speeding on his motorcycle lost his wheels for seven days and was given a hefty fine Thursday.

Mounties clocked the bike at 160 km/h in a 50 zone at 3:30 p.m. May 22 as the 17-year-old Kelowna boy was heading east on Highway 33 West. The rider stopped at a red light at Rutland Road then took off toward Black Mountain. He was still accelerating when he noticed police lights in his rear-view mirror and pulled off the highway.

Officers soon discovered the teen has a Class 7 and 8 learner's licence.

"Stopping distance increases dramatically as your speed increases," Const. Kris Clark said in a press release. "Under ideal conditions, at 50 km/h it takes more than 46 feet to come to a stop but that increases to more than 472 feet at 160 km/h. That's an increase of 10 times the stopping distance for only three times the speed and does not take into account the time required to perceive and respond to a given situation. It's not difficult to imagine the results of a crash at that speed."

The motorbike was impounded but forfeiture may be sought. The teen faces a possible charge of excessive speed. He will appear in court July 28, 2014.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.