An 18-year-old P1 driver from Lutana has had their vehicle clamped and will face a fine and disqualification after they were detected driving at high-speed this morning and tested positive to a roadside drug test.
Just before 11:30am, whilst police were conducting a high visibility road safety operation along the Bass Highway, they detected a red Holden Commodore travelling at excessive high speed along the highway at Westbury. The vehicle was detected at 164km/h in a 110km/h zone, and the driver was safely intercepted by police.
The driver was an 18-year-old man from Lutana with a P1 driver licence which restricts him to maximum speed of 100km/h. Subsequently the driver was travelling at 64km/h over the speed limit, and they returned a positive roadside drug test.
The driver has been fined $1161.50 and six demerit points for the excessive speed, and their vehicle will be clamped for 28 days. Being a provisional driver who normally only hold 4 demerit points, the driver will be subject to a further period of disqualification.
"Speeding and drug driving are both part of the 'Fatal 5' causes for fatal and serious crashes, but in this example when you combined both, the consequences could have been disastrous," said Sergeant Benjamin Kromkamp.
"Had police not been actively patrolling this area, the high-speed driving could have easily resulted in another serious or fatal crash on our roads."
"Tasmania Police will continue to hold unsafe drivers to account including the seizure of vehicles and disqualification of licenses."
"Remember that police can be anywhere, anytime, so slow down and get to your destination safely. It's about your safety and the safety of everyone else"
