A teenage learner driver must wait six months before being allowed back behind the wheel – or throttle – after police caught him speeding on the highway in the Tweed Shire.
Officers from the Tweed Byron Highway Patrol in the Far North Sector have described ‘educating a 17-year-old male novice learner rider who thinks his licence conditions are optional’ on Wednesday afternoon.
They say they were patrolling southbound lanes of the Pacific Motorway near Crabbes Creek around 1:45pm when they saw a white Kawasaki Ninja 300 overtaking other drivers and speeding north at around 130km/h.
An officer on a police motorbike was reportedly able to confirm the rider was speeding at 165km per hour in a 110km per hour speed zone.
The rider’s bike displayed learner plates, meaning the rider was legally only allowed to drive at a maximum speed of 90km per hour.
Police say they activated their lights and sirens before stopping the rider a short distance away.
They say the rider was a 17-year-old male from Lismore.
He’s received a fine of $2794 and six demerit points for speeding at more than 45km per hour over the applicable legal limit.
Police say they also suspended the rider’s licence on the spot for six months and confiscated his registration plates for three months when they realised the bike was registered in his name.
The boy was still reportedly awaiting a tow two hours after his arrest.
Police are urging people to report anyone they see driving or riding dangerously and are imploring bike riders to ‘ride to live!’.
Unfortunately one can not put a mature head on a teenager, thank goodness he did not crash. Of course the police officer on his motorbike would have never broken a road rule of been guilty of speeding in his motoring career. Unfortunately do as I say not as I do does exist.
I’m a bit dubious if this “learner” had a 300cc L.A.M.S. machine, due to the speeds reported by police.
These bikes as are sold as a coimpulsory safer alternative, being power-restricted specifically for learners.
Maybe a bit of police embellishment here for the worthy cause of road safety ?
Kawasaki ninja 300c top speed 182 kmp approximately 5.6 seconds 0 -100 kph.
So yes speeds police report us possible.
L.A.M.S.= the much-applauded NSW Guv’s ‘learner approved motorcycle scheme’, trying to help make learner riders safer on the road.
Yes – the Kwaka ‘Ninja 300’ is confirmed to be on their official list…
Settle down! Planning rules such as height limits on buildings are being regularly breached by developers, who obviously consider such standards ‘optional’. Why shouldn’t speed limits be treated the same way?
Shocking!! Who cares ,we all have sped in the past, was it on a straight piece of road??. I suppose the newspaper got a phone call and thought public interest would be served. I await the next instalment!!
I never have. And I’ve never gotten a ticket in my life.
Heres a thought,increase advertising rates 60% for the likes of major supermarket chains and big 4 banks,insurance groups and airlines oh and hardware chains you know the ones,the price gougers.Who think profit before community.
I went past a sign on the Centenary Motorway that said, ” Every K over kills.” I was doing 10kmh over at the time and didn’t die much less die 10 times over.
Do they really expect us to take them seriously?
This kid got an enormous fine and neither he nor anyone else died though admittedly that might have been just over the horizon.
What about a huge fine for councils and governments that leave huge potholes and other dangerous road features unattended?
They actually do kill people.
Hilarious to see the biker apologists commenting here. 8 out of 10 bikers I encounter are doing the wrong thing such as lane splitting at speed, tailgating or just plain speeding. They seem to think road rules simply don’t apply to them.