L-plater flees scene of crash, meth driver caught twice in one week

The week, which runs between May 6 and 12, 2024, encourages road users to remember lives lost on the roads and reflect on how to prevent road trauma.

But as police asked drivers to pledge to be safe there were a number of dangerous drivers in Warrnambool's Magistrates Court on May 6.

An 18-year-old Warrnambool man on his L-plates crashed a silver BMW sedan on Walsh Road on January 6, 2024.

The court heard he lost control of the car, which left the road, mounting a nature strip and colliding with a fence adjacent to the State Emergency Service building.

The man fled the scene.

Police were notified by a group of people about 10.30pm.

Officers found the car with damage to the front and rear bumpers, as well as the passenger-side doors.

The teenager went to the police station about six hours later and said his BMW was stolen.

The court heard the man had an injury to his right foot, was nervous and evasive and appeared alcohol affected.

He declined to make an official police report and left.

Police subsequently obtained CCTV footage from the scene and observed the man, who was shirtless, leaving the vehicle with a limp.

They attended his home on February 20 and he admitted being the driver.

Lawyer Belinda Northey said the teen, who did not have a supervising driver, misjudged the conditions of the road.

The man was placed on a nine-month undertaking to be of good behaviour with conditions he do a safe driving course and pay $400 to the court fund. His licence was suspended.

Meanwhile, a man caught driving with methamphetamine in his system twice in one week has lost his licence for 13 months.

The man was intercepted by police at Warrnambool's Red Rooster drive-thru on October 1, 2023.

He was observed switching positions with the front passenger.

The man then tested positive for the drug ice, which he said he'd consumed more than 24 hours earlier and thought it would no longer be in his system.

But on October 8 he tested positive for the same drug after being clocked at 76kmh in a 60kmh zone on Coghlans Road.

Ms Northey, representing the man, said her client had an unhelpful driving history, which magistrate John Lesser said was the "understatement of the day so far".

The motorist, who the court heard had remained drug-free for the past four months, was fined $2000.

Assistant Commissioner Road Policing Glenn Weir this week encouraged drivers to visit https://roadsafetyweek.com.au and make a pledge to be safe.

"We've seen a devastating loss of life on the roads, not only in Victoria but across the nation," he said.

"Road trauma doesn't discriminate. From the lives lost to their family members, partners, friends, work colleagues and emergency services who attend the scene - thousands of lives are impacted."

Last year 17 people died on south-west roads, the highest for 15 years. There has been one road fatality in 2024, compared with five for the same period last year.