A 23-year-old Canberra man was caught speeding at 214kph along the Majura Parkway on Saturday afternoon, sparking renewed police anger at motorist behaviour. ACT Policing head of traffic operations Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman said officers were appalled at a string of recent speeding incidents.
"We have seen too much of this behaviour lately. Do these people have a death wish or do they want to kill someone else?" Detective Inspector Boorman said. "When you exceed the speed limit by more than 100kph you display a complete disregard for your own life, your passengers and other motorists."
The 23-year-old man from Florey was one of two men stopped by police on Saturday afternoon driving at dangerous speeds on the Majura Parkway — the other, a 39-year-old man from Gowrie, had been caught driving at 154kph. Police highlighted several other speeding incidents at the weekend, including a man caught on the same road travelling at 163kph just after midnight on Friday, and a P-plater recorded driving at 125kph in an 80kph zone on Gungahlin Drive.
In the ACT the penalty for travelling more than 45kph above the speed limit is a $1,841 fine and six demerit points. Detective Inspector Boorman said it meant the 23-year-old travelling 214kph was fined the same as someone who was breaking the law at 145kph. He said the ACT also did not have "hoon laws" like in other Australian jurisdictions to target repeat high-range speeding offences.
But senior Canberra barrister Ken Archer said there was a criminal offence police could have used under the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999, which could result in a jail term of up to three years. Dangerous driving has become a focus for ACT Policing since the appointment of its new chief police officer Neil Gaughan, who said earlier this month that behaviour needed to change.
Police Minister Mick Gentleman echoed officers' concerns about the recent increase in dangerous driving in the ACT, noting a spike in high speed occasions over the last couple of weeks. The incident comes amid controversy over ACT Opposition policing spokeswoman Giulia Jones, who lost her drivers licence over several speeding incidents but said it did not compromise her position as chair for an inquiry into policing arrangements.
