A Penrith mum’s plan to save money on a trip to Melbourne backfired when she had her vehicle impounded for speeding 151km/h in thick fog at Glenrowan. The accused appeared virtually at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Monday to plead guilty to dangerous driving. The court heard on 7 July witnesses spotted a white Kia Carnival travelling at a fast rate of speed on the Hume Freeway in Wodonga and Chiltern, where police were called. Officers stationed near the Greta Road bypass saw the vehicle fly past, with thick fog restricting vision to 200-300m ahead. Police caught up to the vehicle and clocked it at 151km/h, before it was intercepted near the Glenrowan BP. In the car with the woman were five passengers, including her four children. She told police she was busting and needed to go to the toilet. “I know it’s not good in these conditions,” she said. The woman’s vehicle was impounded, forcing the family to taxi the rest of the way to Melbourne and pay for a flight back to Sydney. Defence counsel Joseph Burke said the experience was not easy for his client to accept, having decided to have driven from Sydney to Melbourne to save money, only to spend more. “It’s a memory she will never forget,” he said. Mr Burke said her client felt she was driving slower than she was due to the conditions at the time. “When conditions are foggy people should pay extra attention to their speed and she has learned from this,” he said. Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Stuart Pritchard said 151km/h in thick foggy conditions was manifestly dangerous. “Had she hit someone and we were picking up pieces of bodies, we wouldn’t be talking about money when going back to pick up her car,” he said. The court heard the Penrith woman also had a history of speeding fines in NSW. Magistrate Megan Casey said she was concerned about speeding in foggy conditions with a full car of passengers. “We’ve got wildlife that leap out of nowhere in good visibility let alone fog,” she said. Magistrate Casey accepted the financial impact already felt by the accused was substantial, and placed the woman on a 12-month good behaviour bond without conviction.
