August is off to a busy start for provincial police on Ottawa roadways.
The Ottawa Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) was conducting traffic enforcement on Highway 417 on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 6, when an officer observed a group of seven motorcycle riders travelling westbound at high rates of speeds.
Police say one rider looked at the officer, popped a wheelie, and drove off at 185km/h on Moodie Drive.
According to the OPP, the group then turned around and headed eastbound past the same officer, and this time, the same motorcycle was observed travelling at 191km/h.
“This comes just days after there were six deaths in eastern Ontario from collisions involving motorcycles,” said OPP East Region in post on X. “These speeds make the roads unsafe for everyone! Take your bikes to track if you want to race them!”
Meantime, around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, Ottawa OPP clocked a driver going 164 km/h in the same area—on Highway 417 near Moodie Drive.
The driver was charged with stunt driving, received a roadside 30-day licence suspension and the vehicle was impounded for 14 days.
The driver faces a minimum $2,000 fine, a one-year driving prohibition, and six demerit points upon conviction.
The latest incidents follow a busy long weekend for the Ottawa OPP, with multiple drivers stopped for speeding.
In one case, there were four children in the vehicle, including two who were sharing a seatbelt.