This week, according to a report published on the police.sa.gov.au website on January 31st, a trainee driver was detected at over 253 kilometers per hour.
The novice driver was operating a Chevrolet/Holden V8 Ute at the time of the accident. The ticket for speeding is one of the most severe ever issued on South Australian (SA) roadways.
Unbelievably, there are a couple additional caveats to this narrative that make the conduct of this careless student driver even more inexcusable.
On Monday, 30 January, around 6.30 p.m., a Barossa Highway Patrol officer who was enforcing speed limits at Waterloo Corner on the North South Highway clocked a very speeding car.
In a zone with a speed limit of 110 km/h, the black Chevrolet/Holden Ute traveling north was clocked going 253 km/h. Officers pursued the suspects. A short time later, however, the Ute in question experienced a mechanical problem that rendered it immobile. Consequently, the suspect was apprehended.
Before it was discovered that the car was unregistered, this was the trainee driver’s top speed. Photograph of South Australia Police.
Upon inspection, it was determined that the 20-year-old Smithfield man at the wheel was merely a learner driver. Worse yet, his companion lacked a valid driver’s license as well, meaning he was not authorized to accompany the trainee.
To add salt to injury, the South Australian police officers then administered a mandated drug test, which yielded a positive result for the trainee driver. The report does not specify for what specific narcotics the sample was sent for further forensic investigation, but it does indicate that the sample was sent for analysis. In addition, the speeding student’s Chevrolet/Holden Ute was unregistered.
The teen driver-in-training who was found speeding was also detained on the following charges: Driving in a hazardous manner, driving without a valid learner’s permit, and driving an unregistered vehicle. The reckless driver’s license was suspended for a year, and his car was impounded. He is pending trial.
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