Man charged after posting Facebook video of himself speeding 190 km/h, RCMP say

A 43-year-old man is facing dangerous driving charges after he allegedly posted a video of himself speeding down a Manitoba highway near Swan River.

The man posted the video on Facebook on Sept. 25 with the caption, "f--king ford escape and runnin from nothing at 190,, couldn't even get 200 outta that f--ker no matter how long I held it down , f--kin take all day to load from the driver's seat of his Ford Escape truck."

The video is shot from the driver's seat and shows the driver zooming past a truck. The shots dip down the speedometer every few seconds. The speedometer reaches about 190 kilometres per hour.

But Swan River RCMP caught wind of the video, which was peppered with comments from the man's Facebook friends that said things like "Don't do that" and "That's craziness buddy" and "Not cool."

"It was actually one of our officers that saw the video posted on Facebook, and as soon as that officer saw the video, we contacted one of our members in the Swan River RCMP detachment," said RCMP Sgt. Bert Paquet. "We don't see this very often. Sometimes one bad decision leads to another, and driving at 185, 190 km/h is definitely not a good idea."

Paquet said officers probably wouldn't have been aware of the incident if it hadn't been posted to Facebook.

"Anybody that sees or has seen the video will probably share the same emotions that our officers did," he said. "The only difference is that we were in a position where we could actually do something about it by way of investigating and the laying of not only offences under the traffic act but also criminally."

Now, the 43 year old has been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and he's been slapped with a number of tickets for speeding, failing to use a seat belt and using an electronic device while driving (distracted driving).

"What is concerning, and the reaction from the public, is not only that he places himself at risk, but also people who share the same road. People we love, people we care for, family members and friends," said Paquet. "[It's a] total disregard for public safety so we're extremely satisfied with the outcome and with criminal charges being laid."