No heed for road speed

By Kath Gannaway
DRIVERS are not getting the message on speed, according to Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol which last week impounded four vehicles.
Leading Senior Constable Graeme Rust said he and his colleagues were appalled at the high speeds they were encountering on Yarra Valley highways.
“Police, VicRoads and the TAC have been actively promoting drivers to slow down, but in one week we have impounded two motorcycles and two cars for excessive speed,” Ldg Sen Const Rust said.
On Sunday 26 February as part of Operation Surreptitious two motorbikes were detected driving at 128 and 129 kilometres per hour in the 80 speed limit on Maroondah Highway over the Black Spur.
Ldg Sen Const Rust said they would have to pay $1155 to get their bikes back at the end of the 30-day impoundment.
On Saturday night, 3 March an 18-year-old Montrose driver was clocked doing 153 km/h in the 80 speed limit on the Maroondah Highway in Chirnside Park.
“That’s 42.5 metres a second and almost double the speed limit at 73 km/h over,” Ldg Sen Const Rust said.
“To stop his car at that speed the driver would take a minimum of 166 metres, if conditions were good, the driver alert and his vehicle roadworthy.
“If any of these factors were sub-standard, that distance increased,’ he said.
The next day, again at Chirnside Park, the same sort of dangerous driving was taken off the highway into suburban streets.
Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol pulled over a 27-year-old male from Chirnside Park driving a Subaru Impreza at 112 km/h in the 60 km/h zone in Edward Road.
“Again, this is nearly twice the speed limit, this time in a built-up area,” Ldg Sen Const Rust said.
“These are speeds for the race track, not our public roads. Doubling your speed requires four times the distance to stop,” he added.
Ldg Sen Const Rust said Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol was using every speed detecting device available to them to detect speeding motorists and responding to complaints with a targeted enforcement regime.
If common sense doesn’t dictate a change, police are hoping the cost of impoundment will.
Ldg Sen Const Rust said the minimum cost to get a car or bike back would be $788 but could be more than $1200.
In all cases a first impoundment is for 30 days.
“Should someone be silly enough to try for a second impoundment, police will seek an order from the courts for 45 days.
“Those who try for a third offence are looking at police applying for total forfeiture,” he said.