A Thunder Bay motorcyclist and a Winnipeg motorist face stunt driving charges after two separate speed-related stops in northwestern Ontario over the past week. Ontario Provincial Police said a 19-year-old Winnipeg man was clocked at 165 km/h in a posted 90 km/h zone on Highway 17 in Upsala, Ont., at about 1 p.m. on July 29. In the second incident, OPP said a 50-year-old man from Thunder Bay was stopped going 135 km/h in an 80 km/h zone on Highway 588 “in the pouring rain” on his motorcycle at approximately 4 p.m. on Aug. 1. OPP Regional Media & Communications Coordinator Erin McCrea confirmed the details of the motorists with CTV News on Monday evening. Licences suspended, vehicles impounded According to police, both received 30-day driver’s licence suspensions, and their vehicles were impounded for 14 days under Ontario’s stunt driving regulations. They each were also served a Part III summons, requiring a mandatory court appearance. Provincial enforcement priorities Provincial police used the incidents to highlight the dangers of speeding and other unsafe road practices. “Speed is one of the Big 4 reasons for serious and fatal motor vehicle collisions in Ontario,” OPP said in a social media post announcing the charges over the weekend. In an interview with CTV News earlier this summer, Const. Kyler Brouwer outlined the service’s enforcement approach for holiday periods. “With any of our enforcement long day weekends, we do focus on the big four: speeding, cell phone use, seatbelt use and impaired driving,” Brouwer said.
