B.C. woman receives highest fine possible for driving 215 km/h on Alberta highway

A 30-year-old woman from British Columbia has received a $2,300 fine after being found guilty of driving 105 km/h over the posted speed limit on a northern Alberta highway.

The fine is the highest possible for speeding.

“It’s certainly not common,” Const. Paul Banks of the Boyle RCMP said Wednesday of the speeding infraction.

“Is it a once in a lifetime occurrence? No. We do see this from time to time. But it’s certainly not common.”

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It happened on Highway 63, just north of Grassland, Alta., just after 9 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2017. An Alberta Sheriff conducting radar speed enforcement clocked a vehicle driving 215 km/h in a 110 km/h zone.

“This is an extreme and dangerous rate of speed, and the court has recognized that,” Banks said.

“At high speeds your ability to react to something on the road, including other vehicles, people and animals is greatly reduced, as is your stopping distance. You also risk an increase in severity of injury when there is a collision.”

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The driver was given a summons for a mandatory court appearance, which is the case with any driver caught travelling more than 50 km/h over the posted limit.

In this case, the woman’s trial was scheduled for Tuesday in Boyle provincial court. She did not show up, so the Crown made an application for an ex parte trial, meaning the trial proceeds without the accused present.

Banks said the application was granted, and the trial went ahead on Tuesday. Evidence was presented by the officer who issued the ticket and the woman was found guilty.

Samantha Bookey, from Aldergrove, B.C., will receive a notice of conviction in the mail. She has one year to pay the $2,300 fine or she will spend 25 days in jail, Banks explained.