You can’t make this one up. A young driver in a Honda Civic hit triple-digit speeds on a Florida highway because he genuinely believed he was caught up in a race. But not with another highway-dwelling motorist, but rather a police officer.

A Florida man broke the state’s new ‘super speeder’ law by 20 mph because he thought he was racing a police officer

This 25-year-old Florida man thought it was a good idea to take his little blue Honda Civic way up into felony speeds recently. According to police in Lake Mary, Florida, the young driver hit speeds of 120 mph before coming to a stop.

Fortunately, the Civic driver had the good sense not to run from the troopers when they attempted to stop him. But even compliance doesn’t absolve you from doubling the speed limit.

According to the authorities, the driver told police he hit those speeds because he believed the officer was “racing” him. Seriously. Needless to say, the police officers arrested him for “dangerous excessive speeding.” 

Florida is cracking down on excessive speeding

In addition to his recklessness, the Florida man in this instance broke the state’s new “super speeder” law. The law states that drivers will face criminal charges and even jail time for exceeding the posted limit by 50 mph or driving at speeds of over 100 mph.

In this case, the man was reportedly guilty of both. Florida’s highway speed limits don’t rise above 70 mph. So, hitting 120 mph just violates that 50 mph over criterion, though he only admitted to going 90 mph.

The “super speeder” law has already resulted in many Floridians getting arrested for their recklessness, including an arrest just two minutes after the law took effect in July. But it’s probably just wise to assume you’re not racing a cop when you see one driving quickly.