Police have caught a P-plater doing 28km/h over the speed limit on the Bass Highway, just 500 metres from where a 10-year-old girl died in a crash days earlier.
Officers caught the 18-year-old near Somerset in Tasmania’s north-west on Sunday during targeted road safety patrols.
Police from Burnie, Wynyard and Smithton took part in the patrols and detected 28 motorists speeding across the division.
Among them was an 18-year-old Burnie man who was allegedly doing 30km/h over the limit on the Bass Highway at Wynyard on Saturday evening.
Police stopped another driver on the same highway on Sunday afternoon for allegedly doing 25km/h over the limit.
Acting Inspector Luke Negri said drivers had given police two excuses for speeding. One was texting while driving and the other was running late for work.
“A text message is not worth a life and no appointment, shift or deadline justifies putting other road users at risk,” he said.
Police also stopped a 17-year-old learner who was allegedly driving alone in a vehicle that had been unregistered for nine years.
Negri said police had recorded 29 speeding offences across the north-west since Friday. One was for driving 30-37km/h over the limit, three were for 23-29km/h over, 12 were for 15-22km/h over and 13 were for 10-14km/h over.
Over the same period, police recorded three mobile phone offences, three unregistered vehicle offences and one case each of unlicensed driving, driving alone on a learner licence and driving without due care and attention.
“Every driver has a responsibility to make safe decisions,” Negri said.
“Speeding, distraction and other dangerous driving behaviours can have devastating and irreversible consequences.”
“Police will maintain a strong, highly visible and targeted enforcement presence across the north-west coast, with motorists reminded that police can be anywhere, at any time.”
