Hwy 401 motorcyclist clocked at 243 km/h

OPP NEWS RELEASE

************************* OPP impound 150 vehicles and suspend drivers' licences across the province over the Labour Day weekend

ORILLIA, ON - (September 2) - At least 150 drivers will be walking for the next seven days after the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) suspended their driver's licence and impounded their vehicles on the spot over the Labour Day weekend when they were charged with doing more than 50 kilometres over the posted speed limit.

Province-wide there were 211 charges under Section 172 of the Highway Traffic Act.

The highest speed was 243 kilometres per hour, by a motorcyclist on Highway 401 in the Port Hope area, who was caught by the OPP's plane, which was patrolling the area.

In another bizarre incident, officers operating laser radar in the Woodstock area clocked a Mississauga man driving a lawn fertilizer truck full of toxic chemicals at 152 kilometres per hour in the westbound lanes of Highway 401.

"Some motorists still don't get it," Commissioner Julian Fantino said. "This legislation is now 11 months old; I would have thought motorists would have enough sense to slow down and drive safely. Apparently not!

"Our relentless efforts to reduce fatalities and serious injuries are paying dividends," Fantino said. "We have 100 fewer deaths this year over the same period last year. That's encouraging but we won't let up just because the summer driving season is almost over. Many people will continue to drive to cottage country until after Thanksgiving and we will be working hard to make sure their travel is safe."

Two people died on highways the OPP patrols over the weekend, including a 12-year-old who was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a single-car rollover collision on Highway 401 at Guelph Line in Milton.

There was one all terrain vehicle fatality in Lanark County where the operator was speeding, wasn't wearing a helmet and was impaired.

There were no marine fatalities over the weekend.

Earlier Friday afternoon, two people died in a collision in Nottawasaga.

A 10-year-old boy died when his dirt bike collided with a vehicle on a private road in Peterborough County.

On Labour Day weekend in 2007, 11 people died on roads the OPP patrols.

Ten died in 2006, making this the safest Labour Day weekend in the past three years.

The OPP's two planes were responsible for 212 speeding charges and eight Section 172 charges over the weekend, including one where a vehicle was stopped for doing 170 kilometres per hour.

It turned out the driver was unlicensed and wanted on a bench warrant from Kitchener-Waterloo.

He didn't have insurance or other documents.

Further investigation led to the arrest of a passenger on a breach of recognizance charge.

Over the weekend, OPP officers laid 142 impaired driving charges, including one against a man on Highway 400 who was his way home from his own wedding.

OPP officers also charged 6,126 drivers for speeding.

There were 668 charges for seat belt infractions, 118 for marine offences and 205 twelve-hour suspensions.

To date in 2008, 209 people have been killed in 183 crashes, compared to 309 fatalities in 263 crashes in 2007.

That's the equivalent of 100 lives being saved.

Alcohol-related fatalities are down 48.4 percent over the same period last year, while speed-related deaths are down 43.2 percent - to 67 from 118 in 2007.

Fatalities where no seat belt was a factor are down 41.7 percent over the same period last year.

"The plane is proving to be a very effective tool in traffic enforcement province-wide," Chief Superintendent Bill Grodzinski, commander of the highway safety division said. "It not only helps us identify excessive speeders but we're also able to see those who weave in and out of traffic or follow too closely. As we saw on the weekend, it also plays an important role in assisting officers to identifying those wanted for serious crimes."

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