A truck driver has been hit with a heavy fine and issued with a defect notice after police detected his vehicle travelling at 144km/h on the Hume Highway.
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Traffic and Highway Patrol officers clocked the vehicle at Pheasants Nest when undertaking speed enforcement.
About 9.30am on Thursday officers detected the regulated heavy vehicle allegedly travelling at 144km/h in the 110km/h zone.
The Victorian-registered prime mover, which was hauling three excavators, is restricted to a maximum speed of 100km/h.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy of the state's Traffic and Highway Patrol Command said the truck’s speed was among the fastest on record.
“To have such a heavy vehicle, laden with further heavy machinery, hurtling down the highway at that speed, is a disaster waiting to happen,” he said.
“Officers will always be on the lookout for irresponsible driving behaviour which puts innocent road users at risk.”
The driver of the vehicle was spoken to and a mechanical and electronic examination of the truck was conducted.
The truck was found to be in breach of a number of speed limit restrictions as well as oil leaks.
A major grounded defect notice was issued to the driver, who also received a fine of $1,364 and five demerit points for Class C heavy vehicle exceed speed limit over 30km/h and $2,238 for vehicle not speed limiter compliant when driven on road.