Motorcyclist clocked at 261km/h among concerns for police during holiday season

Acting Canterbury road policing manager Scott Richardson said it was the highest speed he had encountered in six years with the Canterbury road policing unit.

A motorcyclist clocked at 261km/h and a rental car doing almost twice the limit highlight the perils on the roads this holiday season, police say.

A police patrol car's radar registered the speeding motorcyclist doing 261km/h on State Highway 73, near West Melton outside Christchurch, at about 8.27pm last Saturday.

Acting Canterbury road policing manager Scott Richardson said the patrol car turned to give chase but there was "absolutely no way rural patrol vehicles have any chance against that sort of speed". The motorcyclist, wearing all black on a black road bike, was not caught.

Mr Richardson said it was the highest speed he had encountered in six years with the Canterbury road policing unit.

"That is bordering on the extreme of extreme," he said.

He hopes people know who the rider is and if the rider has "bragged to all their mates at the pub", then he hoped those friends would come forward to police.

"We'd certainly like to know who they are because they could kill themselves or other people."

A driver of a rental vehicle was caught doing 181km/h on State Highway 1 in North Canterbury yesterday.

The driver was suspended from driving for 28 days and he will appear in court on a charge of dangerous driving.

The road toll for Canterburystands at 44 for the year.

Mr Richardson urged people to keep to the speed limit.

"We just can"t afford to lose any more lives."