It's only a matter of time before a pedestrian is killed by speeding "idiots", the head of Dubbo Regional Council's traffic committee fears.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Councillor Greg Mohr says "extremely worrying" police reports, of drivers doing double the speed limit, mean harsher penalties should be considered.
His comments came after police caught a 17-year-old p-plater doing 126km/h in a 50km/h zone along Douglas Mawson Road on Tuesday. The boy copped a $2635 fine and was disqualified from driving for six months, but he was legally not required to face court or take part in a traffic offender program.
In April a Dubbo woman attracted national media attention after she told police she did 111km/h in a 60km/h zone because she didn't want to miss the start of a movie.
Another woman, who tried to avoid police, was caught doing double the speed limit along Wingewarra Street in May.
"These people are dead-set idiots," Cr Mohr said.
"The law is published everywhere that you can see. They know full well what the law is and the consequences of breaking it."
While no pedestrians have been killed recently in Dubbo, Cr Mohr said he believed it was "a matter of time" before someone lost their life.
"It'll happen and it'll happen at the most unexpected time in devastating circumstances," he said.
"It has a devastating effect on the person whose injured, the family of the driver, the emergency services people that have to clean up the mess afterwards."
Cr Mohr said he often saw the extent of the speeding problem first-hand.
"I repeatedly see young offenders, especially p-platers speeding along Cobra Street," he told the Daily Liberal.
"Their licence should be taken off them for 12 months."
According to Cr Mohr, punishments in place at the moment are inadequate.
People caught speeding more than once should be "looking at jail time" and driver education must be taught in schools, he believes.
"It should be a compulsory subject where kids at school have a driving test and get their licence through a proper driving system," Cr Mohr said.