A YOUNG man from Fishing Point clocked going more than 45 kilometres over the speed limit told officers he was "running late for work".
Lake Macquarie Highway Patrol pulled the man over about 6:50am on Saturday while patrolling Dorrington Road at Rathmines.
Police claim the white Subaru Impreza was clocked going 122 kilometres per hour in a 60 kilometre speed zone.
The 23-year-old driver was stopped a short time later, where he showed police his driver's licence and told them the reason he was speeding was because he was "running late for work".
Officers dished out a $2547 fine and with double demerits in play at the long weekend, the driver lost 12 demerit points.
He was suspended from driving for six months and his registration plates were confiscated by police for three months and handed over to Service NSW.
Hunter Highway Patrol Inspector Mick Buko said, as of lunchtime on Monday, the region had two fewer crashes than last year's June long-weekend and no deaths on the roads.
But he said one officer at Singleton booked seven people for speeding in the first hour of his shift on Monday morning - which showed that safety messages were not getting through to some people.
"Everyone seems to have an excuse for speeding," Inspector Buko said.
"The majority of people are doing the right thing, it's just that small minority who are putting the rest of us at risk when we're driving down the road with our families."
