A local magistrate has slammed the behaviour of local young drivers, saying there was an element of complacency setting in on our roads as the state's fatal road toll sits 3.9 per cent up on this time last year. Wangaratta magistrate Ian Watkins sentenced a Wangaratta teen on Monday who admitted to speeding more than double the 60km/h limit on Mason Street at Wangaratta. Magistrate Watkins said men and women of all ages were driving at "ridiculous" and unacceptable speeds. “What does the court need to do to get the message home about road safety,” he said. The court heard the 19-year-old defendant was detected at 138km/h in the 60km/h zone around 12:15am on 30 March this year. He was intercepted on Shanley Street and had a passenger in the front seat. The defendant told officers he was breaking in a new engine, just metres away from residential properties. Defence counsel Nancy Battiato said her client was speeding for a short period of time and his impending licence disqualification would make regular commutes to Shepparton for TAFE difficult, as he looked to purchase a pushbike to get around town. “His parents are not impressed by his actions and they have told him he will have to deal with the consequences,” she said. Magistrate Watkins said the defendant was lucky one of those consequences wasn’t his own funeral, someone else’s, or jail. “What possesses you to speed at that speed in a residential area?” he said. “You young fellas think you are immune when you get behind the wheel and you go off and do what you like. “There have been a number of incidents before this court where double the limit with priors have been sent to prison, you’re very close to that.” Magistrate Watkins fined the 19-year-old $2000, disqualified his licence for 12 months and ordered him to complete a safe driver program.
