A Sergeant with Pembina Valley RCMP says a pair of high-speed incidents on two of the area's busiest highways this past weekend were unacceptable.
The first happened shortly before 5 p.m. on Saturday when officers on patrol spotted a vehicle heading north on Highway 3 near Jordan Corner at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was clocked doing 192 km/h in a 100 km/h zone.
"So, the officer stopped the vehicle, and the male driver from Winnipeg said he saw the open road ahead and, I guess, tried out the speed of his vehicle," explained Sgt. Darcy Thiessen. "Clearly, he did not see the fully marked police vehicle ahead of him that helped interrupt his bad decision making, preventing a collision from happening."
That lack of judgement, added Sgt. Thiessen, cost the driver a $1,255 ticket and a serious offence notice, meaning Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) will assess the file and determine whether additional fines are required or stipulations put against the driver's license.
"This is not a joke. It is very serious."
"It's a very busy highway at that time of day and, whether there's an open road ahead or not, 192 km/h is way too fast, and it poses a risk to everyone on the road, including the police officers that have to deal with the situation," added Sgt. Thiessen.
Later that night, just after 10:30 p.m., officers on patrol witnessed two vehicles racing down Highway 3 near Boundary Trails Health Centre. According to Sgt. Thiessen, the pair were driving side-by-side and going 170 km/h in a 100 km/h zone.
"The police officer was able to stop both vehicles," he noted.
"We just can't tolerate that."
Each driver was issued a $672 Provincial Offence Notice ticket for racing and a serious offence notice where, again, MPI will review the file and assess whether further fines and/or restrictions are required. In addition, both vehicles were also towed from the scene and impounded for 48 hours with those fees also borne by the drivers.
"This is not a joke. It is very serious," commented Sgt. Thiessen.
"Again, a lack of judgement and we just can't tolerate that," he added, noting odds are, a collision at that rate of speed wouldn't end well.
Sgt. Thiessen is asking everyone to do their part to make this a fun and safe summer.
"These speeds are way, way, way too fast, and we just don't want bad things to happen."