Shortly afterwards, another driver was stopped after they were caught travelling at speeds of 176 km/h.
The driver told officers he had "zoned out" and had no idea of his speed, Mrs Grace said.
All three drivers have since had their licences suspended.
The risk created by high speeds could not be ignored, Mrs Grace said.
"Last year, of the 35 fatal crashes in the Waikato, 15 occurred where excessive speed was a contributing factor in terms of speed limits or climatic conditions.
"From a policing perspective, it's no longer solely an enforcement issue, it's a life saving one.
"Already this year 31 people have lost their lives on Waikato roads. We are here to support the community but the community needs to support us in making our roads a safe environment."
Police worked to prevent road trauma by intervention, in this morning's case, stopping people driving at excessive speeds, Mrs Grace said.
"We would rather intervene in cases of weaving across lanes, speeding, not indicating, or persons drinking and driving than have to attend serious crashes.
Road trauma was a serious issue facing the community, she said.
"As a result of last night's crash we have one family who have lost a loved one while another has a person fighting for her life. A third person has experienced something that will stay with her the rest of her days. We need to change attitudes towards trauma causing driving behaviour."
