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Opinion: You’re not flying the Millennium Falcon in Burnaby, so don’t hit light speed

The new Star Wars movie – Rise of Skywalker – is out in theatres and with it comes more people joking about hitting light speed.
mfalcon
A space jalopy made from spare parts and barely able to fly at the best of times, the Millennium Falcon is like that first beater vehicle you bought after high school.

The new Star Wars movie – Rise of Skywalker – is out in theatres and with it comes more people joking about hitting light speed.

So, maybe that’s what inspired one bozo on Friday night to drive their vehicle like they were flying the Millennium Falcon.

Burnaby RCMP report that one of their traffic enforcement officers caught a wannabe Han Solo hitting light speed and flying down a local street at twice the posted speed limit.

The driver was going 105 km/h – that’s highway speed, in case you didn’t know – in a 50 km/h zone – that’s a quiet residential street.

Not only that, but police report the driver was also caught driving distracted, netting them multiple tickets and having their vehicle impounded for seven days.

burnaby rcmp speeding
The suspect's vehicle being towed away in Burnaby for excessive speeding. Burnaby RCMP photo

I wish the driver could lose their vehicle for a longer period, or have to take some sort of remedial driving course.

Or, maybe, they should be forced (pun intended) to meet with the family of someone who was killed by a person driving at excessive speeds. Perhaps hearing their story would have an impact on the driver who thinks it’s OK to race down residential streets. It’s called restorative justice and I think it could be effective for traffic enforcement.

You simply can’t react fast enough if you are driving at that kind of speed down a narrow Burnaby street. So don’t do it. If you look closely at the photo of the suspect's vehicle, you'll notice the rear-end damage held together with duct tape. Perhaps this isn't the first incident this driver has had.

Turn away from the dark side and come into the light of common sense.

Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.