New driver clocked at 223km/h, double the speed limit, on snowy B.C. mountain pass

Interior B.C. RCMP,  out in force during the weekend's first snowfall of the season to enforce safe driving, have issued a blizzard of tickets and warnings. 

On Monday afternoon,  a highway patrol officer on the Highway 97C Okanagan connector clocked a car travelling 223 km/h near the Pennask Summit — more than double the posted 110 km/h speed limit.

"At that speed, it doesn't matter what vehicle you're driving. You will not survive a collision. It's as simple as that," RCMP highway patrol Const. James Ward told CBC news. 

Temperatures were hovering at the freezing mark, and snow had accumulated along the median on a highway known to create black ice dangers.   

Ward says the driver of the Hyundai Veloster told attending officers he didn't realize he was driving that fast.  

He was also a novice driver. 

"The driver was identified as a young man born in 2001. He was a Class 7 [licence] driver. It was also found he did not have his "N" sticker displayed on the vehicle," said Ward. 

Ward says when asked for his licence and registration, the man opened the glove box and what appeared to be a handgun fell out. Upon later inspection, the item was identified as a replica Airsoft pistol, legal in Canada.  

"Thankfully, all the occupants of the vehicle complied with orders from the officers," said Ward.

"It's not a good place to store an Airsoft pistol. It begs the question: What are your intentions? What do you even have it there for?"

Attending officers issued an excessive speeding ticket for $483 and a $109 ticket for failure to display an "N" sticker. The vehicle was impounded for seven days, which is mandatory for any speeding violation 40 km/h above the posted limit.  The driver will also likely face a $500 impound fee and dramatic increases to his ICBC insurance rates.

Ward says criminal charges of dangerous driving are not being considered because there was no other traffic on the highway at the time, so the driver did not endanger other people. 

In a separate enforcement blitz this weekend, West Kelowna RCMP issued 50 tickets and another 46 warnings, mostly for speeding in construction zones.

Sixty-seven drivers, including 14 commercial vehicles, were cited for driving with inappropriate tires.  Snow-rated tires are mandatory on B.C. mountain passes during winter months, subject to a $121 fine.

The RCMP is urging all drivers to slow down during the season and drive to conditions. 

On average, 36 people are killed every year in B.C. in collisions where people are driving too fast for the road conditions.