A blue Ford Mustang being loaded onto a tow truck as a laser reader shows a speed of 200 km/h. (Image Credit: BC Highway Patrol)

By Alyssa Conti

Novice Speeder

Mustang N driver just ‘wanted to test the engine’ after being clocked speeding on Hwy 1 near Hope 

Feb 20, 2026 | 9:35 AM

LAIDLAW — A novice driver’s newly purchased Ford Mustang had to sit in the impound lot for a week after it drove at double the speed limit early this month.

On February 4, at 4:30 p.m., the vehicle was clocked doing 200 km/h in a 100 zone heading eastbound on Highway 1 at McKay Road in Laidlaw, roughly 16 kilometres west of Hope.

The 39-year-old Class 7 Novice driver told police she had just bought the 2018 Mustang and wanted to test the engine. 

“We’ve heard this excuse before, and it does not hold up,” said Corporal Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol. “Speed limits are necessary because we all share the road. Doing double the limit is a serious danger to everyone around you and must come with consequences.” 

Consequences for the Penticton woman included a $483 fine for excessive speed, a $109 ticket for failing to display an “N”, and a seven-day impound at the owner’s expense.

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Police added that the driver and her passenger left the scene in a taxi.