A Warrnambool doctor clocked at 147km/h on the way home from the Twelve Apostles told police he was in a rush to get some sleep before work the next day, a court was told.
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David Shen, 42, of Illawarra Road, Balwyn North, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to exceeding the speed limit.
He was fined $793 and his licence was suspended for 12 months.
Magistrate Ann McGarvie said Shen would no doubt have seen patients suffering from motor vehicle accidents.
"You should know the effects of a speeding one-tonne box of steel hitting another car or a tree," she said. "It's not just a danger to you but a danger to innocent drivers or passengers in another car."
Ms McGarvie did not record a conviction, stating that Shen was "not a bad person but you did make a bad decision that night".
"You are otherwise a valuable member of our community."
Shen told the court he regretted his offending and thought about it every day.
On January 26 last year, Shen was driving a Lexus sedan on the Princes Highway at Garvoc about 11.30pm.
Police believed he was travelling in excess of 130km/h and began following him. He travelled through the Garvoc township at 140km/h in a signed 80km/h zone. He was later clocked at 147km/h in a signed 100km/h zone.
Police intercepted Shen, who said he was returning to Warrnambool from the Twelve Apostles and was in a hurry because he needed "to go home and get sleep to go to work in the morning”.
In other news, a Timboon motorist who blew more than three times the legal limit told police he had no idea he was going to be over the limit, a court was told.
Shane Bentley, 47, of George Street, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to drink driving.
Magistrate Franz Holzer said the reading was “significantly and dangerously high”.
“You’re an embarrassment to yourself and a risk (on the roads),” he said.
Bentley told the court he had not eaten on the day of offending and didn’t think before he got behind the wheel. He said he could no longer handle his alcohol after a motor bike accident.
He was fined $700 and his licence was cancelled for 16 months.
On October 28 last year, police received reports of an intoxicated man leaving the Warrnambool Hotel about 4pm and entering a vehicle.
At 4.40pm Bentley was found seated in his vehicle outside a pharmacy in Fairy Street. He was arrested and conveyed to Warrnambool police station where he returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.168 per cent.
Bentley told police he had “no idea (he was) going to be over”.
But Mr Holzer disagreed.
“You would have known,” he said. “You would would have been staggering around like an old drunken sailor.”
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