A 19-year-old driver was arrested this week for some extreme speeding in Oregon. The teen, driving a 2016 BMW M3, was caught going 176 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone, nearly three times the speed limit.
A Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy clocked the vehicle using LIDAR just after midnight on Wednesday. The BMW was traveling south on Interstate 5. The deputy informed dispatch about the speeding vehicle, providing a description of the M3 while asking for assistance. Another officer further south on I5 saw the car and watched it take an exit ramp.
When the two deputies caught up with the vehicle at a stop, they pinned the BMW in to prevent the driver from escaping. The driver, Milo Schneider, cooperated with the deputies during the investigation and admitted that he saw the speedometer read 183 mph at one point, which is the car’s top speed.
Sgt. Danny DiPietro told The Oregonian that he had “never seen a speed this high anywhere,” adding, “When you’re going at that speed, you’re going to hit something and someone’s going to die.”
Police booked Schneider into county jail for one count of reckless driving. Speeders caught in Oregon doing above 100 mph automatically face a $1,100 fine and a suspended license for six months.
The 2016 BMW M3 F80 has the automaker’s S55 twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six engine under the hood, rated at 425 horsepower. The automaker offered the performance model with a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. 2016 was also the year BMW introduced the 444-hp Competition Package.
The car has an official top speed of 155 miles per hour. However, BMW offered an M Driver’s Package for the F80 M3, which upped the top speed to 180 mph. The teen clearly reached it, but he shouldn’t have done it on public roads, putting other people at risk, especially at night. Granted, that kind of speed isn’t appropriate at any time of day. A reckless driving charge seems apt, and we hope he learns a valuable lesson. That kind of driving is for the race track.