Justin Chiang will have a few months of walking and taking public transit to reconsider his driving habits. The B.C. man pled guilty to dangerous driving in Jasper Provincial Court last Thursday, an admission that netted Chiang a $1,150 fine and a six month driving prohibition.

On October 30, 2005, Chiang was stopped by police after an officer clocked his Honda Civic travelling at 132 kilometres per hour just east of the intersection of Highway 16 and Highway 93. That area has a speed limit of 70 kilometres per hour.

Several other motorists complained to the police officer that Chiang’s vehicle had passed them on the shoulder travelling in excess of 110 kilometres per hour. In 

another case, drivers told about being forced from the road, thanks to the rapid progress of Chiang and another driver.

This other driver formed the basis for Chiang requesting that the judge consider reducing the length of his driving prohibtion. The young man claimed that he had been harassed by the driver of a grey vehicle that tailgated, passed him and then proceeded to slow down, and continued this erratic driving pattern for an extended period of time. Chiang said that he attempted to dial 911 but was out of range. He then decided to speed up in order to avoid the other car. He mentioned that while he did not attempt to evade police after being flagged down, the grey vehicle did, successfully.

Despite this argument, the judge remained convinced that a driving ban was necessary.