Corsa driver caught at 208km/h

2007-03-04 11:00

Johannesburg - Thirteen men were arrested for reckless and negligent driving when they exceeded the speed limit by as much as 80km an hour in Boksburg and Linksfield, Ekurhuleni metro police said on Sunday.

Topping the list was a 23-year-old driver of an Opel Corsa who drove at 208km/h on the N3's 120km/h zone, inspector Jimmy Maboko said.

"The man was caught on the Linksfield offramp on Sunday morning."

Shortly after his arrest, a 23-year old man was caught driving at 200km/h on the same road, while a Mercedez-Benz driver was caught driving at 203km/h, he said.

"The 23-year-old man said he was hurrying to help his girlfriend who had just been thrown out of a house."

In Boksburg, a 19-year-old VW Golf driver was caught driving at 136km/h on a 60km/h zone.

"He had been driving on the North rand road when metro police arrested him."

Nine other drivers were caught driving at speeds between 120km/h and 136km/h on the same stretch of road.

But a 19-year-old Yamaha motorcyclist broke the record when he was caught at 146km/h, said Maboko.

Some drivers said they were racing with peers, while one driver told police he was "compelled to speed by a driver behind him".

"The men were arrested during an operation conducted between Friday night and Sunday morning," said Maboko.

They are all expected to appear in the Boksburg and Germiston magistrate's courts on Monday.

- SAPA