As August arrives, so does the back-to-school season, which means more young drivers hitting the roads, some of them under 18 years old. It's a crucial time to remind everyone about the importance of safe driving and avoiding excessive speeding, as highlighted by the Orange County Sheriff's Department in Florida through their recent Twitter post.
In this message, the Sheriff's Office shared a video of a 16-year-old driver who was pulled over in January for driving at a staggering 132 miles per hour in his dad's Toyota Supra. In Orange County, getting caught speeding 30 mph above the speed limit requires a mandatory court appearance and a $354 fine. Going 50 mph over the limit leads to an even steeper $1,100 fine, and the driver could face arrest with their vehicle impounded for reckless driving.
The video features Corporal Greg Rittger, who explains why he stopped the young driver and has him call his parents to the scene. When the parents arrive, Corporal Rittger shows them the speed recorded on the radar gun and shares a somber story of another 16-year-old he had stopped a decade ago, driving a new Ford Mustang. Despite his warnings, the teen crashed the Mustang into a tree and lost his life just three weeks later. After explaining the consequences of the speeding incident to the parents, he lets them go.
According to Sergeant Gerald McDaniels from the Orange County Sheriff's Department, excessive speeding is a common issue among young drivers, and they catch multiple teenagers driving well over 100 miles per hour on different highways this year alone.