A 20-year-old learner motorcyclist has had his bike impounded for 30 days after allegedly speeding at 135km/h in a 40km/h school zone in Lalor, North Melbourne. The incident occurred about 4pm on Friday, when police spotted the rider traveling more than three times the speed limit outside a school.
Police stopped the motorcycle shortly after and spoke with the rider, who had only held his learner’s license for two months. He was forced to walk home after his bike was impounded, with the release fee set at $999.52. Officers expect the man to be later charged with exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h.
Licensing overhaul calls after triple-fatal crash
The alleged incident comes just days after a South Australian coroner called for a licensing overhaul following a triple-fatal crash involving a teenage learner driver. In November 2020, Ian (Ned) Walker, 80, Nan Walker, 70, and their daughter Sue Skeer, 55, were killed in a head-on collision at Suttontown, in SA’s southeast.
The 16-year-old driver of the other car, known as TB, has autism, ADHD and Tourette syndrome. None of these conditions were reported on the medical and impairments section of his learner’s permit application. He was later found guilty of careless driving but not guilty of the more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
Coroner recommends health certificate step
A medical assessment after the crash found TB did not meet the medical standard for driving because he was “easily bored and loses focus”, telling police he “zoned out” before the crash. Coroner Kereru recommended adding a health certificate step to the licence qualification process.
“The fact that one person’s momentary health episode can so easily claim the lives of three other people demonstrates the value in a health certificate step being added to the licence qualification process,” Kereru said in findings released on Thursday. “The Skeers and Walkers lost a large part of their family in an instant, in what must feel like a cruel affair.”
