Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll says speeds detected during COVID-19 lockdown “horrifying”

A staggering increase in the number of speeding drivers on Queensland roads during the COVID-19 lockdown has left the state’s top cop ‘horrified’.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has expressed horror at the high range speeding on Queensland’s roads during COVID-19 lockdown.

Despite a 30 per cent reduction in traffic volumes there has been a 26 per cent increase in speed camera detection rates.

There has also been an increase in the actual speed being done by lead foot motorists. 

On Wednesday a 21-year-old man was caught speeding at 133km/h in a 100 zone while driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.126 on the Bruce Highway in Mackay.

Last Sunday, at Birnam, in the Scenic Rim region, a driver was caught doing an “absolutely stupid” 173km/h in a 100 zone while overtaking a car that was travelling at 152km/h.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

And three high-speed violations were detected by police within a matter of hours on Monday.

In one incident a driver was intercepted doing 153km/h in a 70 zone on Albert Street and Logan River Road, at Bethania.

Another saw a motorcyclists on the Pacific Hwy at Pimpama speeding at 161km/h in a 100 zone.

On the Bruce Highway between Barretts and Howard Heights Road at Cherwell driver was pulled over after he was detected doing 168km/h in a 100 zone.

“The speeds on our road are at a critical stage, the amount of people speeding is incredible and the exponential speed, the increase of the speeds, is quite horrifying really,” Ms Carroll said today.

“We’re at plus seven in terms of fatalities on last year, which is disappointing … I please ask that people abide by those speed (limits).

“We are still out there, we’ve pushed more police on the road, we’ve pushed a lot more of the mobile cameras out as well to make sure that we can regulate what’s happening and to make sure that people decrease their speeds.”

There were two fatal collisions at the weekend including a quad bike rider who crashed into an embankment near Kingaroy on Sunday.

In a separate incident a 78-year-old Kingsthorpe woman died when her car collided with a truck at Oakey also on Sunday.