Four more stunt driving charges laid in Shelburne, ongoing issue getting worse

Written By PAULA BROWN

Shelburne Police Services (SPS) continue to see a number of incidents of high speed driving in the community, with yet another driver charged last Thursday (June 25) with stunt driving in town. 

“Driving at extreme speeds is simply unacceptable,” said Sgt. Paul Neumann. “The danger to the occupants of the vehicle, as well as the danger to other vehicle operators and passengers, and the danger to pedestrians is not worth the risk. Please everyone, drive responsibly and safely. Put the phone down, drive sober, slow down, be aware of everything around you.” 

SPS have reported four incidents of stunt driving in Shelburne in the month of June. A press release from June 2 detailed an officer stopping a teenage driver, who was travelling 111 kph in a 60 kph zone on County Road 11, near Victoria Street. Shelburne Police stopped motorcyclist Dennis Hibbs, 39, on June 19, driving 116 kph in a 50 kph zone on Victoria Street. A car driven by Angelo Russwurm, 48, on Second Line, by Fiddle Park, was clocked by SPS going 72 kph over the speed limit on June 20. The most recent incident of high speed driving was on Thursday (June 25) when an 18-year-old man was stopped going almost 60 kph over the speed limit on County Road 124. 

“Another stunt driver taken off the road tonight. 118 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. Speeding over 50 km/h = no licence or vehicle for 7 days,” said SPS Chief Kent Moore in a tweet following the latest incident. 

Each of the incidents led to a charge of stunt driving, resulting in vehicles being impounded for seven days and a license suspension of seven days for each of the speeders. 

A number of the stunt driving incidents occurred in residential areas of Shelburne, or in areas with lower posted speed limits.

“The vast majority of speed limits in the Town of Shelburne are 40, 50, and 60 kph. I think that most people would consider anything over 70 kph in a town would be excessive and dangerous, and most would assume nobody would ever be driving over 80, or 90, or 100 kph,” said Sgt. Neumann. 

The penalties for a stunt driving conviction, according to the SPS press release, can include six demerit points, fines between $2,000 and $10,000, licence suspension up to two years and imprisonment up to six years.