Impaired 'N' driver clocked doing 225 kilometres per hour on North Vancouver's Upper Levels highway

An impaired driver clocked driving faster than 225 kilometres per hour in an 80 km/h zone on the Upper Levels highway in North Vancouver has been handed a 90-day driving ban and has had his ride impounded for 30 days.

The 19-year-old new driver was spotted around midnight Jan. 15 rocketing west at almost three times the posted speed limit in a four-door sedan on Highway 1 near the Westview exit, said Sgt. Peter DeVries, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP.

The officer, who happened to be on patrol in the area doing speed enforcement, captured the mind-boggling reading on radar.

“It’s a shocking amount of speed,” said DeVries.

Even more shocking, when the police officer pulled the driver over, he immediately became suspicious that the driver was exhibiting signs of being impaired. The driver subsequently failed a roadside screening test.

"This was an extreme example of recklessness and disregard for the safety of other people," said DeVries.

DeVries said in addition to having the vehicle impounded and his licence suspended for three months, the driver was handed tickets for speeding and driving contrary to licence restrictions for new drivers. Those tickets and impound fees will result in costs “in excess of $1,000,” said DeVries.

The car that was impounded belonged to a family member of the driver, DeVries said.

"We want the community to know, and to be reassured by, the fact that we will enforce every provision in the Motor Vehicle Act available to us to stop dangerous drivers from putting the community at risk in this way."

In cases where a driver has engaged in high-risk driving behaviour that meet a certain criteria, police can also request the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles issue an immediate ban to remove the driver from the road, said DeVries.