’Our roads are not racetracks’: Cops nab hundreds of selfish motorists caught excessively speeding
A police blitz has nabbed hundreds of drivers doing more than 25km/h over the speed limit with two motorists given $1000 fines. WATCH THE VIDEO
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A stretch of road in the Gold Coast hinterland has become a pseudo racetrack with a police blitz nabbing 60 motorists for exceeding the speed limit by at least 40km/h.
A two-day police blitz at Mount Tamborine at the weekend resulted in several hundred drivers being booked for excessive speeding and it has highlighted the issues plaguing the state’s roads, says Assistant Commissioner Ben Marcus.
Among the glaring examples police encountered in the crackdown in 60km/h zones, a P-plate driver was clocked at 121 km while overtaking, a motorcyclist travelled at 104 km and a disqualified driver was booked for doing 115km.
A driver of a Tesla, who was clocked doing 123km/h in a 60 zone, had his licence suspended for six months, lost eight demerit points, was fined $1245 and the plates were removed from his vehicle.
The police operation comes as the state’s road death toll stands at 212, just seven fewer than for 2019 which was lowest in decades, with still two calendar months to go before year’s end.
Mr Marcus said the pandemic had contributed to more vehicles being on the road as well as more cyclists and more pedestrians being out and about because fewer people were taking public transport.
He said 124 drivers were booked for exceeding the speed limit between 25km-30km/h, 97 were clocked at between 30km-40km/h over the limit and 67 in excess of 40km/h over the limit.
Mr Marcus did not reveal where police had conducted the blitz, although it was “a lovely mountainous area”, and that 99 per cent of motorists were driving within the prescribed speed limit.
“We caught about 300 people doing very high speeds,” Mr Marcus said.
“I have to call out the people who are acting selfishly and dangerously our roads are not race tracks. That's where our children are.
“Last year we had our least worst year, for lives lost, at 219 and at the moment, being still in October, and of midnight last night we are at 212 … and that’s above the five year average which is what we benchmark to.”
WORST OFFENDERS
* P-plate driver: 98km/h in 60km zone in a defective vehicle while drink driving
* P-plate driver: 121km/h in a 60km zone
* Motorbike rider: 104km/h in a 60km zone with an eight-year-old pillion passenger
* Disqualified driver: 115km/h in a 60km zone wanted on an arrest warrant
* Driver: 123k/h in a 60km zone with two small children in the vehicle
* Driver: 151km/h in a 60km zone.
Shocked RACQ Chief Communication Officer Paul Turner said it was “a disgrace” that some 300 people had been booked for travelling in excess of 25km/h.
He said motorists were not only acting in a way that would kill others on the road but left family and friends across the state in despair for years to come.
“What we’ve seen today from the Queensland police is quite frankly a disgrace,” Mr Turner said.
“Our road toll is basically where it was for the entirety of last year.”
Mr Marcus said it was just speed that purely caused the death of motorists or passengers.
“We are seeing an increase in people being killed for no other reason than not wearing a seatbelt,” he said
“Speeding accounts for one in five of our road deaths, and it’s way too high.
“It’s something we can all avoid, and yet we’re still seeing these ridiculous speeds on curving roads in mountainous areas.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Over two days monitoring a road in the Gold Coast hinterland:
124 – drivers caught doing between 25-30km/h over the limit
97 – drivers caught doing between 30-40km/h over the limit
67 – drivers caught driving more than 40km over the speed limit
Originally published as ’Our roads are not racetracks’: Cops nab hundreds of selfish motorists caught excessively speeding