‘It’s just not good enough. Three people died on our roads last week’: Police slam bad behaviour on Top End roads

Police have slammed the behaviour of Top Enders last week after 47 traffic-related fines were handed out over two nights, including one to a man who was driving 47km/h over the speed limit with his wife and baby in the car.

POLICE handed out a whopping 47 fines for traffic-related offences over two days last week, including one to a man who was driving 47km/h over the speed limit with his wife and baby in the car.

Office In Charge of Darwin Traffic Operations Senior Sergeant John Ginnane said on Friday and Saturday night, police issued 47 separate traffic-related fines in the Darwin rural area.

“The vast majority of these offenders were driving at dusk and at night on and around Fog Bay Road in the rural area,” he said.

“Some were speeding, some were drunk and exceedingly so. Some were unrestrained as were their passengers, including children, and some were combinations of all those behaviours which inevitably lead to death and disfigurement.

“One driver was intercepted after having his speed checked at 147km/h on a 100km/h section of road with his wife and infant child in the back seat. Several others were issued infringements for driving between 31 and 45km/h over the limit on the same stretch of road.

“Obviously, it is the height of the dry season and the perfect time to be enjoying the Top End’s attractions. School holidays have finished, but the public also have two successive long weekends coming up. We expect heavy road use across the rural area to continue in the short term, and would like to advise motorists that in light of their behaviour in the rural area over the weekend, they cannot expect sympathy from police when they are caught breaking laws designed to stop people from being killed.”

Police also caught multiple people driving unregistered all-terrain vehicles (ATV s) in an unsafe way.

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“It’s just not good enough. Three people died on our roads last week,” Snr Sgt Ginnane said.

“We’ve seen multiple lives lost and ruined in exactly this area in recent times as a result of ATV misuse, and we still have people who think the rules don’t apply to them. One ATV rider found out the hard way they do after receiving a $1540 fine for driving an unregistered light vehicle.

“This sort of irresponsible behaviour is nothing more than a death wish either for yourself, your loved ones or just as importantly, the loved ones of someone you don’t know. You might think you’re having fun, but there’s nothing fun about a funeral.

“Drivers are of course free to consciously make the decisions they do. But if you deliberately make a poor choice, you will also bear responsibility for the result.”

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Originally published as ‘It’s just not good enough. Three people died on our roads last week’: Police slam bad behaviour on Top End roads