A $574 fine and relatively short licence suspension turned into an incident that left this New South Wales P-license driver facing thousands of dollars in fines and possible repairs.
On Saturday, August 3, Raymond Terrace Road Patrol Officers were conducting a speeding stop on the Pacific Highway when they spotted a Subaru Impreza approaching at 73 mph in a 62 mph zone.
As it passed the police station, the Subaru – sporting a red P-plate – is said to have accelerated to around 170km/h, before being detected by radar at 156km/h.
On a distance of 2.1km, the average speed of the car is calculated to be 141km/h.
The Impreza stopped early and smoke was coming from under the hood, indicating the car had overheated, police said.
The 17-year-old male driver presented a provisional P1 driving licence he had only held for two months, which had a speed limit of 90km/h, even though the posted limit was higher.
He is said to have later tried to explain to police that he was on an adrenaline rush and tried to evade them, but changed his mind when he noticed the Road Patrol’s Yamaha FJR1300 – which has nearly the same power as the Subaru but is almost five times lighter – was catching up with him.
While the original speed detected at 116km/h would have resulted in a $574 fine and four demerit points, he was instead fined $2959, given six demerit points and will have his driver’s licence revoked for at least six months.
It is not known how much damage the Subaru suffered to the engine and how much it will cost to repair it once he is able to drive again.
