A 20-year-old man was caught speeding last night at 161kph in an 80km zone.

Police were conducting laser speed detection along Drakeford Drive, Bonython, at around 11.30pm when they caught the man driving a white Nissan Pulsar.

He was fined $1811 and lost six demerit points.

Officer-in-charge of traffic operations, Sgt Jeff Knight said the driver should be thankful that he only received a traffic infringement notice when the penalty for driving at such a speed could have been fatal.

“To see someone caught travelling at 81kmh over the posted speed limit is appalling,” he said.

“The danger they put themselves in, not to mention other road users obviously didn’t cross the mind of the driver.

“Speeding at such excess has the potential to have fatal consequences. One of the hardest jobs for a police officer is to knock on someone’s front door and tell them that a family member has died in a vehicle collision.”

ACT Policing start a month-long traffic campaign on Monday, targeting people using mobiles while driving.