Speeders ignore police warning

A Perth man has had his car impounded and will appear in court after police allege he was clocked travelling at 160km/h on Albany Highway in Kojonup on Tuesday.

Williams police recorded the hired silver Kia Sorento travelling 50km/h over the posted 110km/h speed limit near the Kojonup airstrip just before 2pm on Tuesday.

The man will face a charge of reckless driving at the Katanning Magistrate’s Court at the end of January and the vehicle will be impounded for 28 days.

Senior Constable Matt Bradbury said the driver and passengers were headed to Albany for a holiday when they were stopped.

Sen. Const. Bradbury said the hire-car company could apply to have the vehicle released early.

It comes as Wagin police charged four motorists with travelling more than 30km/h over the speed limit on the same day.

Last month, an L-plater dri-ver was allegedly clocked at 164km/h on Albany Highway near Williams, one of several drivers police have charged with excessive speeding recently, while a P-plate driver was also charged with speeding on the same section of road.

The region’s 2016 road toll finished at 31, the most killed in more than a decade and more than double the 2015 figure.

Earlier this week, Great Southern police district Superintendent Dominic Wood said police would continue to work with Main Roads in 2017 to make more efficient use of limited resources and target dangerous roads in the region, but motorists needed to take responsibility for their actions.

“We are working with Main Roads to look at where all crashes are happening and not just fatal ones to see where the areas are we need to focus on,” he said.

Supt Wood said police numbers were determined by population and not geographical area and the vast distances in regional WA meant police could not be everywhere all of the time.

“We won’t always be there to stop someone from doing something stupid on the roads and that’s just the way it is,” he said.

“We’ll maintain a focus on the message to the general public that says you and your loved ones need to take responsibilities for the journeys you take because police can’t be everywhere.

“We’ll be as targeted as we can, but we’ll maintain the message to the public to take responsibility, take breaks and be fit for the drive.

“We’re grateful we haven’t had any more fatal crashes over the holiday period.”