Contra Costa CHP says they caught a driver who was going 139-mph on I-80 near Hwy.4 this afternoon.
The speed limit in that area is 65-mph.
The driver was ticketed.
CHP did not release any further information.
photo credit: Contra Costa CHP
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At that speed he should have booked him and not given a ticket. Exhibition of speed.
Silly AF, we don’t even incarcerate hardened and dangerous criminals anymore in California. Why on earth would you thing they would book him for this?
139 mph on a public highway and this person wasn’t taken into custody? Seriously? How is this any less dangerous than driving under the influence? I spent 30 years as a paramedic in Contra Costa county. I can tell you that next to distracted driving, speed was the number one cause of accidents.
There was another incident and the jail refused to take them into custody because of the virus. The jails are letting less offenders out because of the virus as well.
I guess with hardly any cars on the road, a person’s foot gets *very* heavy…
The driver should have been arrested for reckless. 108RS
I was on a winding, narrow road going thru Tilden Park & a caravan of 4 cars were “drifting” during the curves.
Drifting is when your back end of the car skids outward throughout the entire turn, then straightens out as the curve ends. All 4 were doing it together in each curve.
Of course, they had their loud, rattling, squeal from their mufflers that make it sound like the car is falling apart in pieces.
Rice, rice, baby.
I wouldn’t even know how much a ticket at 139 MPH would cost.
I think a regular speeding ticket is $300.
He was going an additional 74 MPH over the 65 MPH speed limit.
$800-$2000 fine/court costs for the first offense with a maximum 30 suspension of their driving privilege.
Furthermore, and even worse, these tickets carry 2 DMV points that stay on a driver’s DMV record for 10 years. This could double a person’s insurance rates for…. 3 to 5 years. So possibly $5 to $10K with the fine/court costs and being an assigned insurance risk.
Traffic school, not surprisingly is not an option.
Why was this guy/gal not booked into the Martinez jail? I have lived all over the country and all around the bay area and I have never seen more of this type of speeding than in CC county. I commute from Concord to Oakland daily and I see someone driving reckless at over 100 at least once a week ALWAYS on this side of the Caldecott.
The section cited was an infraction.
Even if the Driver was arrested for the misdemeanor 23102(a) VC – Reckless Driving, the Driver would still have been issued a citation and released pursuant to 853.6. (a)(1) PC.
Wow 139. What the H was he thinking? I had a 55 pontiac I once took to 120 going from Los Angeles to Vegas. Only for a few miles though. After I slowed down I saw the CHP coming up behind me doing at least a hundred. He went past me and for a long time I didn’t see him again until miles up the road he was standing at the edge of the road and signaled me off to the side of the road. After he finished writing about a half a dozen tickets to others he had stopped in the same fashion he stopped me. Never will forget that. The guy was something.
Ricardoh, the same thing happened to me coming back from Tahoe. A CHP pulled up beside me and told me to pull over, then he took off and did the same to others. Then he came back and wrote about six tickets in a row.
Cyn – You should have let the cop pass you as he pulled the others over & taken the next exit since you were behind him & hightailed it into the forest along the roads & waited it out.
This guy should move to Germany no speed limit on the Autobahn, or at least use to be. My ex husband and I bought a BMW 528e, in 1982, because we were going to Denmark anyway. We arranged the sale here and picked it up at the factory in Munich, saved $5000.00 of sticker price. We than drove around in Germany, and a couple of more countries. I’m pretty sure we hit 120 -140. Thing is German drivers are very disciplined and traffic not as much as here. We put enough mileage on it so when we shipped to back here it was considered a used car, so you save on tax. I was a fun car to drive, especially on winding roads I had it for 11 years.
Haha.
My sister got caught speeding too from Tahoe on 80. But the CHP scared us by blinking a red light into the SUV. Talk about getting spooked and her foot coming off the accelerator PDQ.
Oh well. Enlivened an otherwise dreary drive back to the Bay Area.
I drove one of those in the late 80’s while stationed in Bavaria. Had the straight six and was torque-ey at low speeds but never really spun up. Good brakes, it was fun on winding roads like you said. Not really an Autobahn car though. Not geared for it I think. And it had no cup holder. Sold it for the exact amount I bought it for.
Well, when there’s not one to slow ya down . . . . .
Is always best to let the person in a hurry pass and in a little while when you pass them as they’re getting the ticket . . .
SMILE.
Person needs bumper sticker I saw awhile back.
BUT officer the Russians influenced my speedometer
I’ve had a car over 120 on the freeway………it was black & white.
108RS
108rs …. so what happened
Probably dont want to take a chance on the guy having covid and coming into the jail. I suspect they have an isolation cell to try to keep people apart but they are not trying to catch people and put them in jail if they aren’t a “flight ” risk lol. But that signature! Does it say Bam bam?
Double the speed limit is a felony. That person should be in jail.
This is California. The politicians look after their voters.
Wonder if the driver was under the influence? I’ve noticed people driving like maniacs and many times when/if I get a closer look I have seen some of them smoking weed obviously high as heck… insanity.
Deserves at least a couple of swift kicks to the cojones !!
Driving over 100 MPH in the State of California is 2 points on your record and its a mandatory appearance in Court. You cant just mail in the fine. Any actual arrest is up to the officer’s discretion given conditions and location. And, your license may be suspended. Hopefully, that’s what will happen to this clown.
There is much less traffic now! So as a result, some people take advantage of the empty space on the freeway. I have heard the serious accidents with fatalities have increased! Idiots
It’s not just speeding, in my neighborhood stop signs have become invisible. This morning I saw a guy speeding though the stop at the end of the street and yelled. “Nice stop eh?” His response was the always classic “F—you, man”. Some people say we are all in this together, others are all out for themselves.
I have to agree, just driving around town Willow Pass, downtown Concord, Contra Costa Blvd, I have noticed drivers seem more impatient, gets upset if you take too long to turn etc. I wonder since most of us are not working why are they in such a hurry. If they are working they are most likely not sitting in traffic, so why the hurry.
I didn’t find that to be true at all when I went out today. Everybody was pleasant, driving the speed limit, courteous and careful, stopped and waved me through. Guess it has a lot to do with how courteous you are to them.
Gitty,
What time of day (or night ) was it? Meth heads don’t start stirring until noon.
I guess I left home around 10:30 am and got back around 1:30 pm or so. There was a lot more traffic on Clayton Road than I had expected to see. However, unlike most days, everybody was driving the speed limit and was cautious and courteous. I didn’t get that frantic, rushed, and hurried vibe into Concord,
I went by Ace Hardware on Clayton Road, by the way, and I’ve never seen so many people in there shopping. Everywhere I went there were a lot of people out, bank, grocery, food pick up at a restaurant. It was surprising to me to see so many people out and some not wearing masks. Ace has the checkout clearly marked to observe the six-foot social distancing, as did the bank and the grocery store.
Nevertheless, it is anxiety producing with that mask thing. I let it down when I was driving because I always feel like I’m suffocating with it on. So, I was constantly taking it off and putting it back on. I wiped down the ATM machine at the bank with a disinfectant wipe I took along in a plastic bag and got the check I was depositing wet. It must have shocked the ATM because it wouldn’t accept the transaction. So I took my wet check inside to deposit and when I handed it to the teller he kept touching it and looking at his fingers and I finally figured out he was wondering why it was wet. I had to explain I has gotten it against a disinfectant wipe. He looked really relieved to hear that! It was a weird day. I needed a stiff drink by the time I got home.
They should of impounded the car and locked him up with Big Willie.
Gitty, Just because you don’t agree or like my political views, perhaps you could be a little objective when it comes to other matters. You have never met me, you have no basis to assume I’m not a courteous driver.
I try to live my life the way my parents brought me up, be nice to people, be fair and be courteous. I’m not an aggressive driver.
These guys don’t understand: You can’t outrun a radio…….
Radio nuthin’
I’ll bet you a donut that the trooper has a great time catching up and stopping the car all by themself.
A stern wag of the finger at you young man! Always send a spotter through first. 😉
The DA will drop any charges. The “stress” of the virus made them do it.
This is the Daily norm on all of our freeways, Hwy 4 = 100mph minimum required.
And good luck trying to identify anyone…..since they all have Tinted Windshields.
Maybe the driver can blame it on the rollout of 5G.
Stupid f…. didn’t give a crap about anyone else – throw him in jail, crush his car and fine him $20k.
I was ticketed out in the Nevada desert for 128mph in a 75mph zone. The fine was over $1100. But worse is the increase in my insurance rate. Looking at traffic school to reduce it from 8 pts. to 4 pts. Damn those Hemi’s!!! They’re just too Fast and way too fun. We did have open hiway . . . and luckily my wife had enough time to put her panties back on before the cop approached the car window.
In some states going that much over the speed limit gets you arrested. I don’t know how much over the limit you have to go in Ca to get arrested but they had to be close.
No one on the road, he was just having fun.
Just a quiet morning on I-5- me and about 100 trucks. I’m in the left lane going about 90 and the trucks are in a 75 mph line on the right . I look in my rear view mirror and this small dot was coming up fast from behind me and about 10 seconds later went past me at about 150 mph- it looked like an Italian number, red and slung close to the ground. I started to get back into the left lane and there was suddenly 4 CHP Units going by, from the north bound lane I saw 2 more units tuning in the median and overhead a helicopter. All I could see was dust from the median strip. I saw trucks pulling over to the right shoulder and slow down and I did also. About ten miles down the road in the median was the red car on its top, surrounded by 4 CHP units and a landed helicopter. The car was beat to crap and pieces were all over the median. Some idiot in shorts and sweatshirt was cuffed up and sitting on the ground. The trucks all honked and gave the CHP units a thumbs up when they went by. I kept thinking they were making a movie but they weren’t – Some S—for brains tried to outrun the CHP Real Einstein!
While working for the City I worked around and with police officers, I learned that they, especially the younger ones, love a good chase.
I understand not taking the idiot into custody, trying to keep the jail free of Covid-19 by not having to book fresh morons. How about impounding the car until the appearance ? No more car to speed with, and impound fees to help the economy.
It’s tempting out there these days. I bet they haven’t furloughed many officers though.
With the Coronavirus, LE is being told to use discretion when considering arrests due to jail conditions. Should’ve impounded vehicle at least. I wonder what their excuse was for driving so fast? Any priors?
After impound, hit this a$$hat with a $5K fine. If he can’t pay it, take the car straight to the crusher.
The Coronavirus pandemic saved that driver from being immediately arrested and taken to jail.
Many consumer tires are rated for 99 MPH. Above that speed they could fail; i.e. fall apart. I wonder how many speeders check their tires’ rating first. It’s the letter in the mash of numbers on the tires.
Just heard on NPR…”Scott Wiener introduces bill to limit speed rating on tires sold in California at 65 MPH”.
Probably was one of those vehicle-mounted radars that can be used when the vehicle in motion.
Those Explorers are pretty darn fast, though.
He got the text saying “hey my parents are not going to be home for a couple days , wanna come over ?” 🤷🏽♂️
People would do anything to get attention.
Yet another loser who takes advantage at every chance. If they do not care about their loser lives how about caring about ours-who are always footing the cost of their mistakes and nonsense.
There has to be a place for these souls somewhere and in time it will catchup to them and when it does I’d love to be a fly on the cloud when they can’t finagle their way out of judgement day.
So be it.
dude,
Well…certainly another way of looking at it. I grew up during the exact same time and your descriptions of events back then are spot on. I always marveled at the “restricted” HP ratings from the factory.
Being a performance enthusiast myself, I learned at an early age that sheer HP and speed in vehicles that weren’t designed by Porsche were not conducive to longevity of life. After the death of one friend and injuries to another that changed his career path, I didn’t own a vehicle that had anything higher than 4.11 gears (fuel was cheap!) . I didn’t want to take the chance that excessive speed on my part played a role in someone losing their life.
Everyone needs to aware of surroundings and responsible for their own actions. I don’t know the statistics regarding population density between 1972 and 2020 but I’m sure it’s an eye opener. For those of us that drove during a time when the roads were new, there were fewer stop signs and stop lights, higher speed limits, fewer police officers, and speed shops seemingly everywhere, the deserted streets of Virusville look like Fremont Raceway and Sears Point.
I’m curious…if you didn’t try to follow your driving prowess into the professional ranks, what kept you from doing so? Maybe it’s not too late. I think about that every time I see Chris Karamesines strap in for one more run. He was a senior in high school before we were born.
Should take the car to the track instead of a public road.
… But I have done 160 MPH on I-5… with the top down. It was dusk and the road was empty.
And no seatbelt, right?
Not that a seatbelt would matter at 160 MPH
Seat-belts are terrific; even at 160MPH. It would be that sudden stop that may get ya into trouble….
Good post. 🙂
139 is reckless in its self, takes very little to lose control at that speed.
As I wrote in an earlier post the autobahn in Germany has no speed limit and the Germans are very disciplined drivers, stay in one lane, put blinker’s on etc.
However, the joke in Germany is only the good drivers are on the autobahn the bad drivers have already killed themselves.
dude,
Wow, with just that list of cars you could by a nice house in Lafayette! I try not to think much about my “cars that got away”, I just become a blithering, sobbing mess. I hope you got some nice pictures of them all. I was fortunate to have a dad that dabbled in photography, a habit he passed on to me, so at least I have a few pictures.
I spent my early childhood in Fremont and would go with my dad to Fremont, Half Moon Bay, and Cotati. My dad’s friend was killed at HMB in Top Fuel and that was that. Back in those days many of the elite teams didn’t travel across state lines so the costs were “manageable”. I still appreciate most forms of racing and the commitment it takes to compete at a high level let alone win.
2000 HP in a flat bottom boat? You’re crazier than I thought! A friend of mine’s cousin drove drag boats (Whiskey River) until 1994 and his account of trying to steer with the prop being out of the water “more time than not” meant he was literally flying most of the time. That’s just not right.
I left the WC Main St. scene in ’79. I cruised the “73-’79 period in my “57 Nomad, Boss 302. ’77 TA, my dad’s ’40 Ford, and a few times in my sister’s ’70 4-4-2. I’m sure we crossed paths back then…
This is more fun than arguing politics!
I bracket race at Sonoma and Sacramento. Acceleration is more fun than MPH, and the competition at the track is fierce. And best of all, innocent people don’t get injured and if I do, there is an ambulance in attendance. And when a street di** meets a real racer, they are in for a humbling experience.
In case your like me and don’t know what bracket racing is, I looked it up:
Bracket racing is a form of drag racing that allows for a handicap between predicted elapsed time of the two cars over a standard distance, typically within the three standard distances (1/8 mile, 1,000 foot, or 1/4 mile) of drag racing.
There is a video of the chase maybe 10 mins long. They arrested the driver. And sent the K-9 in to clear the car. Technically speaking anything 25 mph or the speed limit is a felony.
Looks like the driver got lucky not to be arrested. But that citation though.
That’s a Charger, not an Explorer.
Car enthusiasts aren’t even mad. What kind of car was this!
Great job, Infiniti! Woo!