Hoon caught driving at 181km/h in South Australia

A teenager has been caught driving at 181km/h in South Australia.

The incident has infuriated SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens.

Mr Stevens is waiting for the government to finalise legislation to treat dangerous drivers as criminals.

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"[It's] incredibly dangerous behaviour, and people need to be held accountable for that," Mr Stevens said.

The 17-year-old P-plater from Hawthorndene was detected speeding 80 kilometres over the speed limit at Bedford Park on the Southern Expressway.

The driver had his modified Audi defected and impounded for 28 days.

But he wasn't arrested, because it's a traffic offence.

"I would expect that this person will suffer a more significant penalty as a result of having to attend court for the behaviour, as opposed to police issuing an expiation notice," Mr Stevens said.

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This incident is not the only one to concern police.

In February, a motorcyclist was caught speeding at more than 200km/h on the North-South motorway at Dry Creek, north of Adelaide.

The incident prompted Mr Stevens to push for tougher penalties.

And in March, a teenage disqualified driver was caught doing 140km/h in an 80km zone in Virginia, a town on the rural outskirts of Adelaide.

"Going forward, there's a potential that you could be treated like a criminal rather than a road traffic offender," Mr Stevens said.

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Those laws are currently being drafted by the government. 

It expects them to be finalised and ready to introduce them into the parliament in the coming weeks.

"People need to appreciate that when you're crafting legislation it's important to get it right, so that there are no unintended consequences from the new laws coming into effect," Mr Stevens said.