by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A P-plate teen has been admonished by a magistrate after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and speeding at a “ludicrous” 171 km/h in a 40 km/h zone in Clyde in February.
The then-18-year-old was also observed by police running a red-arrow traffic light at the corner of Smiths Lane and Thompsons Road, a police prosecutor told Dandenong Magistrates’ Court.
The teen – a P1 probationary driver – did not fix P-plates on his car.
The vehicle was also deemed to be illegal for P-plate drivers, and was unworthy due to its customised, tinted taillights, police told the court.
His car was seized and impounded for 30 days, his licence suspended on the spot of 12 months.
The teen, now 19, represented himself in court on 16 July.
“There’s nothing I can say. There’s no reason for me going that fast at all,” he said.
On 16 July, Magistrate Christina Windisch told the man that the 171 km/h speed was “so dangerous” even putting aside the 40 km/h speed limit.
She told the teen that his mother – who was watching from the courtroom gallery – could have easily got a “knock on the door” because he’d been “wrapped around a tree”.
Or alternatively, he could have been put in custody for causing a fatal crash.
The teen responded that “if anyone knows it, it’s me Your Honour”, referring to friends being killed in a car crash a month after his booking.
“I’m just amazed how people, and it’s mostly young men, do it and end up as fatalities,” Windisch said.
“It’s amazing how young men think you can get in a car and drive at those speeds. You’re not a race car driver.
“It’s ludicrous to think you can do this and be safe.”
The man was fined $800 without conviction, ordered to complete a safe-driving program and affirmed his 12-month licence loss.
