A LAVINGTON couple caught speeding at about 150km/h down the Hume Highway had their two-year-old child in the back seat of one of the vehicles.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Their two cars came to the attention of police at Wangaratta about 11am on Tuesday.
Officers had received multiple triple-0 calls about the cars speeding southbound.
Police detected a 22-year-old man’s car travelling at 150km/h.
He had already been disqualified from driving, his vehicle was unregistered and he tested positive roadside to methamphetamine.
The man’s partner, who was travelling behind the car at 149km/h, was in a vehicle with no number plates.
Their daughter was in the back seat of the probationary driver’s car.
She was ordered to surrender her vehicle at a later date and the man’s car was impounded.
One of the cars was missing the nuts on all its wheels.
Sergeant Michael Connors said it was particularly concerning their child was inside the woman’s vehicle.
“They were moving down to Melbourne,” he said.
“It’s concerning especially with the weather we’ve had lately.
“With a two-year-old in the vehicle, that child doesn’t have a choice of being in the vehicle.
“They have no say about how the driver was driving.
“It appeared to be a total disregard for the safety of their own child.”
The woman will appear before Wangaratta court next month.
The man will front court at a date to be set as police await further results from the positive drug test.
The incident followed a four-day operation targeting the inappropriate use of fog lights on the Great Alpine Road and Snow Road which caught a drink driver high on cannabis.
The 42-year-old Wangaratta man returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.078 and also tested positive for marijuana.
The operation ran from Friday to Monday and caught 17 people using fog lights when inappropriate.
Sergeant Connors said all highway patrol vehicles could test for drugs and alcohol.
“Some people have total disregard for drink and drug driving laws and think those laws don’t apply for them,” he said.
“They will be caught.”
Sergeant Connors said drivers should only use fog lights where appropriate as they can cause issues for other motorists.
