WA roads: Father caught speeding with kids in backseat among idiotic drivers caught speeding this Easter

A father speeding tens of kilometres over the limit with his kids in the car, and a P-plater losing his licence are among the stupid and reckless drivers stung by police on WA roads this Easter long weekend. The West Australian was invited on patrol with the WA road policing command, covering one of the State’s deadliest roads, Indian Ocean Drive, through Yanchep and Gingin. Sunday’s ride-along began in Perth’s eastern suburbs, and within minutes officers clocked an Isuzu D-Max speeding at 101km/h on Wanneroo Road. It’s a single-lane stretch with a 90km/h limit. The vehicle was also fitted with about $20,000 worth of dangerous modifications. “The car was detected speeding 11km/h over the speed limit, but the driver may have been oblivious to that because he’s got oversized wheels and its hacked up several inches,” WA Police Inspector, of the road policing command, Tom Stafford said. The driver was given a $100 speeding fine and told to have the ute made roadworthy. The officers set-off towards Indian Ocean Drive then made a sharp U-turn: they’re hot on the tail of a red P-plater. The police radar shows the 17-year-old driver going 113km/h in a 100km/h zone — a danger any day of the week, but made far worse when combined with inexperience. “We don’t want them over-represented in serious or fatal crashes,” Insp. Stafford said. “Over your life, drivers witness or hear other people who aren’t doing the right thing . . . but unfortunately, you can’t put an old head on young shoulders.” The driver was fined $200 and given four demerit points — his licence gone in the blink of an eye. He will have to do his theory and practical tests again. Later on Indian Ocean Drive, a Toyota Camry was spotted doing a staggering 129km/h — nearly 30km/h over the limit — and dangerously overtaking several vehicles. Astonishingly, the driver had his partner and two daughters in the car with him. The driver was argumentative, but facts are facts: “The law is quite clear, you cannot exceed the maximum speed limit,” Insp. Stafford said. He said it was common to see vehicles hit up to 160km/h in a bid to overtake other motorists. “People get impatient and as soon as they can get past, they’ll give their car an acceleration . . . so where do you draw the line? The line is the speed limit.” Despite the best efforts of police, this Easter long weekend has been fraught. Three people were killed on Thursday afternoon, including 14-year-old Jaxxon Brinkworth after his dirt-bike ploughed into a ute, in Bedfordale, just metres from his home. Insp. Stafford said extra patrols had been sent to high-risk areas around Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River and Albany to try to reduce the number deaths on WA roads during the long weekend. “Easter is one of the busiest weekends of the road of the year, people are going to and from their holiday destinations, visiting family, friends and loved ones,” he said. “During a long weekend, we call in our road policing groups north and south to assist us on the highways . . . we have extra effort patrols, and we utilised overtime shifts and cancel annual level to a bare minimum. “Visibility plays a crucial role in road safety, it does a lot of the job for us. “We want the motorists to see us anywhere and at any time, so it’s important they penetrate as far into the country as they can.” While road policing command is separate from the major crash investigation unit, Insp. Stafford said every highway patrol vehicle was equipped with a defibrillator — the devastating reality of working on WA roads. “Often we will be the first emergency service on the scene of a tragedy, whether it be a serious crash or a fatality,” he said. “Everyone’s capable of making a mistake, but we’ve all seen really silly and reckless behaviour on the roads and we just shake our head . . . we have to survive as humans too, so all you can do is shake your head. “Just slow down, plan ahead, rest when you’re tired, put the phone away and never drive impaired — your decisions behind the wheel today will determine whether everyone gets home safely.”