Skip to main content

'Not sure why people are driving so fast on our highways': Teen driver charged after travelling 179 km/h on Highway 401

Middlesex County OPP stopped a 19-year-old driver who was allegedly speeding 179 km/h on Highway 401 in Thames Centre, east of London, Ont., on March 17, 2024. (Source: OPP West Region/X) Middlesex County OPP stopped a 19-year-old driver who was allegedly speeding 179 km/h on Highway 401 in Thames Centre, east of London, Ont., on March 17, 2024. (Source: OPP West Region/X)
Share

A 19-year-old driver from Caledonia has been charged after OPP stopped them allegedly travelling nearly double the speed limit on Highway 401 last weekend in Middlesex County.

According to Middlesex County OPP, on March 17 at 3:09 a.m., an officer on general patrol observed a vehicle on Highway 401 in the westbound lanes in Thames Centre, east of London, Ont., travelling at 179 km/h in a posted 100 km/h zone and performed a traffic stop.

As a result, a 19-year-old of Caledonia was charged under the Highway Traffic Act with the following offences:

  • Drive motor vehicle - perform stunt - excessive speed
  • Careless driving
  • Improper number plate light

The driver's licence has been suspended for 30 days and the vehicle has been impounded for 14 days.

The accused was released from police custody and is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Provincial Traffic Court to speak to the charges at a later date.

“Not sure why people are driving so fast on our [Ontario Ministry of Transportation] and OPP patrolled highways,” police said in a social media post. 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The American paradox of protest: Celebrated and condemned, welcomed and muzzled

Americans cherish the right to assemble, to speak out, to petition for the redress of grievances. It's enshrined in the first of the constitutional amendments. They laud social actions of the past and recognize the advances toward equality that previous generations made, often at risk of life and limb. But those same activities can produce anger and outright opposition when life's routines are interrupted, and wariness that those speaking out are outsiders looking to sow chaos and influence impressionable minds.

Stay Connected