It was a first for Okotoks Peace Officer Jesse Steele.

He had pulled his cruiser over into a rural driveway just off of 32 St. East on a Tuesday evening when a vehicle flew past him in a 60km/hr zone.

Steele's radar clocked the vehicle at 151km/hr, though he says it reached 160 at its fastest.

Before then, the fastest he'd seen was 60 over the limit.

He says it was a jarring sight.

Photo: Town of Okotoks (Facebook)

"Your heart kind of jumps to your throat because knowing that speed, if there was maybe more inclement weather or the roadways weren't as dry, it could be much worse."

The narrow road has one lane in each direction with sharp shoulders and deep ditches, in fact, there's barely room to pull over.

Luckily, the driver cooperated with the traffic stop came to a halt and Steele was able to carry out the traffic stop.

Steele says the Traffic Safety Act only goes so far when it comes to fines for speeding.

"The particular section for speeding has a chart, and for every kilometre over the speed limit from 1 to 50, the fine rates go up. So from 1 to 2 it'd be like two or three dollars but from 10 to 20 it's maybe four or five and it kind of gets bigger and bigger to a cap of 50 kilometres over, which is a $474 dollar fine."

That's by no means the extent to which speed limits are enforced though.

"Anything over 50 kilometres over the speed limit, there's an automatic court appearance. Then what would happen is it would go before a judge and the crown prosecutor and they would determine a penalty befitting the violation," says Steele.

Those kinds of court appearances could result in higher fines, a suspension, or both.

The Town of Okotoks chronicled the incident in a Facebook post, warning of the danger present when driving so far above the limit, as well as the consequences for those who are caught doing so.

"The important thing is to not think your invincible out there, despite the kind of vehicle you drive... to stretch your legs because you're having a bad day and hit the gas like that, there's no reason for that to be appropriate at any time."

 

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