Griffith resident 21-year-old Andy McRae was caught speeding by a Highway Patrol vehicle conducting Lidar speed tests on Merrigal Street on February 18.

Being 8.20am in the morning, the school zone signs were active and posted, covering both the Griffith High School site and Kalinda School.

McRae was detected doing 100km/h before accelerating to 120km/h in the school zone.

When police officers pulled him over, he said "I didn't realise I was going that fast."

"I'm not used to this car yet," McRae claimed.

"I am running late for work as I just had to go to an induction."

Seated before magistrate Joy Boulos on Wednesday at Griffith Local Court, McRae waited patiently for the verdict to be handed down.

His legal representative David Davidge argued McRae was "immediately remorseful" when questioned by police.

Facts presented stated McRae was cooperative with police and showed "genuine remorse for his actions when reality set it."

He argued despite his excuse being "quite generic" it did not negate how genuine his reflection and contrition was.

Mr Davidge said his client said he described being pulled over by the police as "providential", considering how disastrous the situation could have been if a child had walked across the street.

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"He says it was fortunate he was stopped when he was," Mr Davidge told the magistrate.

Character references and letters speaking on behalf of his character, being a hard-working person, stood in his favour as the decision was being made.

Magistrate Boulos said the act showed quite a level of "willful inattention" in order to get to work due to running late.

She said there could be no room for complacency when driving on the roads especially in school zones.

"You were driving in excess - 100 km per hour increasing to 120... the number of children that have been killed by speeding is incredibly high," she said.

While she conceded he had gained valuable insight from completing the traffic offenders program, and having pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity, the offence was still mid-range in objective seriousness.

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