It is widely accepted that speed kills.
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The message has long been put out into the community by police and government in an effort to make our roads safer.
The almost inevitability of speeding leading to serious crashes causing death and serious harm is right up there with fatigue and alcohol and drug abuse. And you don’t have to be smart to understand why.
Anyone who has been in even a minor crash at relatively low speed can readily see the extensive damage this can do to a car.
If you simply drive at the speed limit and you’re not paying attention – or someone else is failing to concentrate – then the impact of such a crash can easily be catastrophic.
All that makes Banjo Cannon’s driving almost impossible to fathom.
Victoria’s Traffic Accident Commission once campaigned on the message of “if you drink and drive, you’re a bloody idiot”.
The best description for Cannon then would have to surely stretch this to a far more damning indictment.
Wodonga court has heard the extraordinary story of this driver’s ridiculous behaviour.
These are the facts that magistrate Annabel Hawkins had to consider when Cannon fronted court.
Firstly, Cannon made the disastrous, ill-informed decision to get into his car and drive off after a fight with his partner.
His starting point was Dean Street, where there would have been other late-night revellers out and about trying to find a way home.
Secondly, Cannon made it clear fairly quickly just how dangerous he was about to become to all and sundry, including himself.
He sped off, ignoring a NSW police vehicle following him in an effort to get him to stop.
Cannon shot off even faster, thumbing his nose at everyone in an incredibly stupid example of driving usually only seen in the Border region on the Hume Freeway.
But Cannon wasn’t on the freeway when his car hit 189km/h.
He was on the Lincoln Causeway, in an 80km/h zone and then a 60km/h zone that for many Border residents remains the main conduit between the two cities.
If Cannon crashed there can be no doubt what would have happened. It would have been a catastrophic explosion, one that no one could survive. A 12-month driving ban without a criminal conviction barely seems enough.