Massive fine gives Alberta speeder 12,000 reasons to slow down
Canwest News Service Published: Saturday, August 30, 2008
A 34-year-old Alberta man was handed a $12,000 speeding fine this week after police caught him roaring down the highway at 263 kilometres per hour -- more than twice the posted speed limit. An RCMP officer near Edson, Alta., saw the speeding Honda motorcycle blur past him last May on a stretch of Highway 16, between Edson and Hinton, Alta. The speed limit is 110 km/h. The officer gave chase, but was unable to match his speed, said RCMP Sergeant Ron Lyons. The same officer later spotted the motorcycle in Hinton and made the arrest. In a plea bargain earlier this week, the speeding motorcyclist agreed to pay the unusually high fine in exchange for being allowed to keep his licence. "I've never seen a fine like that before," Sgt. Lyons said. "A fine of $1,000 is usually a lot." Earlier this summer, the Hinton Traffic Court slapped an $8,500 fine on a 25-year-old Prince George, B. C., man for driving 206 km/h on the same stretch of highway.
