B.C. highway patrol has impounded a vehicle for seven days, after an Albertan driver was caught exceeding the speed limit by an astounding 123 kilometers per hour on Highway 1 in a construction just east of Golden.
The driver was travelling at a speed of 173 kilometers an hour in a 50 kilometer per hour zone. The driver also received a violation ticket for their excessive speed.
The driver says he was trying to make it through the construction zone before a scheduled road closure, which is a part of the ongoing construction in Phase 4 of the Kicking Horse Canyon project.
“At that speed, the time to perceive and react to situations is severely diminished,” said Sergeant Brad Matchett, the NCO in charge of BC Highway Patrol.
“The danger is compounded when travelling in a construction zone where workers are vulnerable and road conditions often require speeds much.”
READ MORE: Intermitten and overnight closures to Highway 1 just east of Golden announced for July
Highway 1 is currently open during the day, with evening lane closures between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. MDT and full overnight closures from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. During the overnight closures, traffic is diverted from Highway 1 through Radium, just south of Golden, along Highways 93 and 95.
The incident occurred just as a month-long provincial campaign wrapped up focused on high-risk driving.
Although the campaign is closing out in a few days, police around the province including the BC Highway Patrol are always on the lookout for these types of driving behaviours that put those drivers, the public, and workers at risk, according to RCMP.
