High speeds appal police

Waikato police were stunned to discover a drink-driver travelling at 188kmh before he crashed near Huntly on Friday night.

The 20-year-old Rotorua man was one of three drivers clocked massively over the speed limit in the Waikato in recent days.

An 18-year-old was caught doing 152kmh on State Highway 3, just south of Glenview, early on Friday morning, while a 24-year-old was clocked on State Highway 26, between Hamilton and Morrinsville, doing 173kmh in an 80kmh zone on Saturday night.

Acting Waikato road policing manager Senior Sergeant Jeff Penno said the officer on duty could barely believe what his radar was telling him when he saw a car while patrolling State Highway 1 north of Huntly, at 10.30pm on Friday.

The officer pursued the car, which drove on the wrong side of the road at times, for a short period, but the pursuit was called off due to the high speed.

The car was found smashed near the Bridge Rd intersection.

The alleged driver was found at a nearby property and returned a breath-alcohol reading of 626 micrograms. The limit is 400.

Mr Penno said it was "highly unusual" to catch one driver travelling at such speeds, let alone three. He said the men's actions were completely selfish and said the man doing 188kmh was "an idiot". At 188kmh a car travelled at 52 metres per second, Mr Penno said. "If a car pulled out in front of him or if there was stock on the road or a pedestrian, the vehicle would have already travelled 100m before the driver could have reacted." "We are extremely fortunate that none of these individuals' selfish acts resulted in a tragic loss."

Mr Penno said the police were working hard to get the message out that speed killed, but an attitudinal change was now needed.

The 24-year-old clocked doing 173kmh told police he was "just showing off".

"We need something similar to that around drink-driving where those young men who see driving at excessive speed as macho or sexy come under peer pressure that it is not," Mr Penno said. "It is reckless, selfish behaviour that can have tragic consequences."

Mr Penno did not want to go into detail about the carnage he'd seen in his years on the force, as he'd worked hard to put it out of his mind.

"But no matter who you are, to have to tell someone's loved ones that they have died is one of the hardest roles required of a police officer – all the more so if the deceased is an innocent party whose life was taken away by a thoughtless and selfish act such as a crash at excessive speed."

- © Fairfax NZ News