A man who was detected driving 20 kilometres above the speed limit on the Sturt Highway last year will pay a fine.
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In Griffith Local Court on March 20 it was heard a busted speedometer led Charles Alexander Wagstaff to take a wild guess while attempting to drive 100km/ph near Darlington Point.
Wagstaff was charged by police for exceeding the speed limit in a class A vehicle by 20 kilometres per hour.
The court was told it was far from the 39-year-old Wagga man's only blemish on his driving record, having collated a history of offences for over a decade.
"When you drive along and your speedo doesn't work, how do you get to 130km/h without noticing the scenery whizzing by and the revving of the engine?" Magistrate Trevor Khan remarked in the hearing.
Wagstaff's solicitor Morgan Jones said his client had intended on using other traffic as a guide.
"However there was no other traffic at the time and around 10 minutes after turning onto the highway he was detected by radar," Mr Jones said.
"His ability to gauge his own speed was seriously over inflated - in hindsight he understands it was a reckless thing to do."
The court was told Wagstaff travels as much as 70,000 kilometres per year as part of his job in agricultural real estate.
"I understand the amount of driving is not unique in country areas and he has a reasonably significant record for someone his age," Mr Jones said.
"This has been a catalyst for some reflection and he has said completing the traffic offenders program was a valuable opportunity to do that.
"I believe he is now aware of the consequences of speed to himself and the public."
But Magistrate Khan was unimpressed, saying at 39 years old Wagstaff should be well aware of the dangers by now.
"You should have seen and read enough by now to know time and time again speed is a leading contributor for people being killed on the road," Magistrate Khan said.
"You don't need to do the traffic offenders program to know that.
"A significant percentage of coronal files are related to road deaths because people continue to drive like there's no tomorrow," Magistrate Khan said.
He said Wagstaff shouldn't have been driving at all with a broken speedometer.
"If anything you should have been driving more slowly instead of trying to keep up," Magistrate Khan said.
Mr Jones asked for a Section 10 without conviction but Magistrate Khan said Wagstaff's record alone was enough to not allow it.
"It's so terrible that it almost adds as an aggravation in this case," he said.
"I just can't see it being appropriate to do a Section 10 at all."
Wagstaff was convicted and fined $500.