Driving down infections

Frenchman, 88, caught speeding at 116 mph on way to get vaccine

Police confiscate license and impound the car of man who says he was running late for his COVID-19 inoculation

By AFP 1 March 2021, 12:42 pm

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French police officers check cars at the French Belgium border in Neuville en Ferrain, northern France, February 1, 2021. (AP/Michel Spingler)

STRASBOURG, France — An 88-year-old man caught speeding at a breakneck 191 kilometers (119 miles) per hour on a French country road told officers that he was late for his COVID-19 vaccine appointment, police said.

The speed limit on the road where he was picked up on Thursday is 110 kilometers per hour, police in the eastern French Bas-Rhin region said on Facebook.

The driver, a local, “gave as a reason for his speeding that he was late for his anti-COVID vaccine,” it said.

Officers confiscated the man’s driving license and impounded his car.

“For everyone’s safety, let’s comply with speed limits, even after more than 60 years with a driving license,” the post said.

Since January, France has given residents over 75 priority in its vaccination program.

The strategy is showing results, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday, with the rate of new infections among over 80-year-olds falling. It has been rising in other age groups.