Two P-plate drivers have been charged with careless driving after both allegedly exceeded the speed limit by nearly 100 kilometers per hour on major Perth highways.

On Tuesday, a 17-year-old boy was charged for allegedly exceeding the speed limit by 94 kilometers per hour on the Tonkin Highway near Perth Airport.

Police Commander Mike Bell said the teenager had had his license for two months and was driving a performance-enhanced vehicle.

“He was out with his friend and decided to test the vehicle’s capabilities,” he said.

An 18-year-old man was charged after he was spotted driving more than 120 mph along the Mitchell Highway in Osborne Park on Wednesday.

The elderly driver was also caught

Cllr Bell said he did not want to “just demonize the P plate” for motorists and pointed to an incident in Katanning where a 76-year-old man was caught driving more than 60mph over the speed limit.

“This is a recipe for disaster.”

Commander Bell said the young people were lucky they were not added to the already appalling toll in Western Australia.

“We would knock on other parents’ doors to tell them they had lost their children,” he said.

“I made those notifications, and that guttural scream of the parents stays with you. When they realize they’ve lost their child forever… it’s just heartbreaking.”

Pressure on young drivers

The charges come amid a crackdown by police and the state government on drivers with P plates.

From the beginning of December, P-plate drivers in Western Australia will be banned from carrying more than one passenger during their first six months behind the wheel.

The state government was under pressure to enact the laws following a spate of deaths in July involving teenage passengers, including 18-year-old Nick Campo.

The new rules, known as Tom’s Law, will not apply to immediate family members or drivers who have been licensed for more than four years.

The legislation is named after 15-year-old Tom Saffioti, who died along with his 17-year-old friend Mark Bogoni when the car they were in crashed into a tree in Seville Grove in September 2021.

They were among five passengers in a car driven by an 18-year-old driver with license plate P.

Tom Saffioti’s mother, Samantha, lobbied for the legislation to save the lives of other young men.

‘Traumatic accident’ in the year of traffic tragedies

WA’s toll surpasses 150 deaths so far in 2024; This is the highest figure seen for this time of year since 2016.

In September, police charged 56 people with exceeding the speed limit and driving more than 40 kilometers per hour.

Road safety warnings have been re-issued after three people died in what police described as a “traumatic” crash in Rivervale on October 19.

The overloaded ute crashed into a tree on Orrong Road and crashed into the rear of a brick house, which was vacant at the time.

Two 22-year-olds and a 34-year-old died at the scene, while two other passengers, aged 19 and 23, remained injured in hospital.

Police claimed that the 22-year-old driver was the only one wearing a seat belt, was speeding at the time, and had a positive preliminary breath test.

Cultural change is needed

Commander Bell said he wasn’t sure why the message wasn’t reaching drivers.

“It depends on the cultural change and the change in drivers’ attitudes,” he said.

“We could have 500 more police officers, but what’s to stop a 17- or 18-year-old lad or a 76-year-old man from exceeding the limits?

“We are losing people at a rapid rate and we need to stop it.”

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