Geelong teen filmed himself driving 196 km/h on the freeway

A Geelong teen who took his father’s car for a joy ride, drove at speeds of nearly 200 km/h while weaving in between traffic.

A teenager who drove nearly 200 km/h on the Princes Freeway has appeared in court.

An “immature” teenager who posted videos of his death defying driving has been slammed by a magistrate for “terrorising everyone on the road”.

The 18-year-old man, who cannot be named because he committed the offences when he was 17, pleaded guilty in a children’s court on Wednesday to a number of charges including reckless driving.

Police said the teenager was racing on the Princes Freeway in Werribee using his father’s vehicle on July 29 last year.

During his reckless driving, the teen was overtaking cars and swerving in between lanes while reaching a top speed of 196 km/h.

Police prosecutors said the teenager also filmed evidence of his dangerous driving, which included narrowly avoiding a fatal collision.

“The accused was driving in the far right lane, reaching 167 km/h before moving into the centre lane at 181 km/h overtaking multiple vehicles,” police said.

The court heard the teen continued overtaking vehicles reaching speeds of 191 km/h before moving into the centre lane to overtake a vehicle in the left lane, narrowly avoiding a collision.

Moments later, the teen was clocked driving 196 km/h while overtaking multiple vehicles.

In one incident captured on the teenager’s phone, he overtook a car by going through a small gap in the centre lane and narrowly avoided a serious collision.

In January this year, police received an email from the teenager’s father informing them that his son was responsible for the dangerous driving.

The teen’s lawyer said if anyone had been injured or killed, her client would have spent multiple years behind bars

She said her client lacked maturity and foresight to understand the potential consequences of his actions at the time.

The magistrate said if the teen had committed the offences as an adult he would be looking at a jail sentence.

“I can’t believe this, you are terrorising everyone on the road,” the magistrate said.

The magistrate also questioned why someone would video themselves dangerously racing while weaving in and out of traffic.

The teenager will be sentenced on August 12.

Originally published as Geelong teen filmed himself driving 196 km/h on the freeway