A probationary driver who drove over 50 kilometres over the speed limit in Waubra with four passengers has been told his behaviour was a “recipe for disaster”.
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Joshua Thompson, 20, pleaded guilty to excessive speed after an incident on October 12 where he was driving 133 km/h on the Sunraysia Highway, which is an 80 km/h zone.
He appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Monday morning.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Clint Prebble told the court at 11.58pm, the man was driving in the Waubra township near Mark Street, when a police radar clocked Thompson above the speed limit.
The man told police he had no excuse for speeding in his Mitsubishi Triton and he was “just being stupid”, Leading Senior Constable Prebble said.
His defence lawyer Andrew Madden told the court Thompson was the designated driver on the night and one of the passengers was ill, so he was “hurrying to get one of his friends back to his home”.
The court heard the man is a second year apprentice, with the Triton his work vehicle.
Magistrate Leonard Brear said it was clear the guilty man was just “out yahooing with (his) mates in a country area”, but the result could have been far more dire.
"This was the sort of behaviour that so often results in tragedy where the passengers, driver, and often innocent parties, are killed or seriously maimed,” Magistrate Brear said.
“The first thing they ought to teach you in TAFE is what the consequences are if you lose your license … as an apprentice, how do you do your job without your license?
“Make it clear to your mates: if they want to act in an irresponsible way, they will face consequences.”
Thompson was fined $2000 and will lose his license for 12 months.
His vehicle was also impounded.