270 km/h! Porsche 911 driver stopped outside Calgary

A Kelowna man is facing a criminal dangerous driving charge after an RCMP officer recorded a Porsche 911 travelling at 270 km/h on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Calgary.

"270 kilometers per hour, that is 75 meters per second. At 75 meters per second, the average person needs one and a half seconds to perceive a danger and then react," said Alberta RCMP Sgt. Darrin Turnbull.

"So that's 112.5 metres that person is going to go down the highway before they can even react to the hazard that's in front of them."

He says it would take another 337 metres for the car come to a stop.

 

"Obviously, 270 kilometers per hour is extremely dangerous and not something we want to have on our public highway with other people. He was passing other vehicles at the time."

Mounties say the 2011 Porsche 911 was clocked travelling at nearly 2.5 times the posted speed limit near Hermitage Road on the night of Sept. 15 during regular traffic enforcement.

The speed limit in that stretch of highway, which is located roughly 20 kilometres west of Calgary city limits, is 110 km/h.

Kelowna's Michael Peterec, 36, has been charged with dangerous driving under the Criminal Code, an offence that carries a stiff penalty if proven in court.

"He's looking at up to two years in jail, up to a $5,000 fine and a driving suspension," said Turnbull.

"It's just not worth the risk. Please drive the speed limit."

 

The B.C. resident does get to keep his vehicle. Had he been caught at this speed in his home province, his Porsche 911 would have been seized under provincial legislation.

Alberta has no such rules allowing for the seizure of vehicles for speeding offences.

Peterec is scheduled to appear in Cochrane provincial court on Dec. 13.