Drunk driving is broadly condemned and approval for those charged “getting off on a technicality” in short supply. But for protection of our personal freedoms, drunk driving laws are necessarily highly technical, resulting in court decisions (and media reports of same) that often read like puzzlers.

These days, 24/7 news cycles can barely handle the glut of breaking news, let alone the latest developments in ongoing stories. And just when you think a behaviour or a trend or a conspiracy theory can’t find the ‘next level,’ it does. Road safety and automotive news are not immune.

According to newspaper reports, in April 2015, Yue Hui Wang, then 18, offered to drive his teenage friend home from Richmond in Mr. Wang’s new high-performance 2015 Mercedes C63 Coupe. Speed apparently being ‘of the essence’, Mr. Wang crossed one of the bridges into Vancouver reportedly at between 160 and 180 kmh.  Then they turned west onto Southwest Marine Drive, which, according to the statement of facts filed in court, is the last thing Mr.

About 12:40 am on Tuesday July 4th, a West Vancouver police patrol officer heard engine roaring before seeing a white Ferrari cresting the curve of the Lions Gate Bridge at high speed. The officer ‘clocked’ the speed at 210 kmh—the limit is 60 kmh, and then managed to apprehend the driver, a 22-year-old West Vancouver resident, at the north end.