Three strikes puts young driver off road
Mon 21 May 2007
John Hammond, Journalism
Magistrate Cliff Taylor disqualified 17-year-old Troy Anthony Devere from driving for 10 months and fined him $2350 in Maroochydore Magistrates Court.
Pleading guilty to charges of speeding, failure to stop and high-range drink driving Devere, who represented himself, apologised to the court for causing such inconvenience and produced several personal references on his behalf.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Andrew MacPherson told the court on Saturday, March 10, 2007, at 3.30pm Devere was caught by police radar travelling at 120 km/h in a 60 km/h zone on Maroochydore Road, Kunda Park with his headlights on high beam.
The court heard traffic was heavy at the time and police, carrying out speed enforcement duties in reflective vests, waved him down.
Sgt MacPherson said Devere’s vehicle slowed considerably but failed to stop. After a brief chase police performed a breath analysis test which returned a positive reading of more than three times the legal limit.
In his defence Devere told Mr Taylor he had consumed half a bottle of bourbon from midday until 3pm.
“I mixed with the wrong crowd,” Devere said before he asked for a work licence to avoid losing his job. This was refused automatically by legislation.
Mr Taylor said he took into account Devere’s two recent unrelated traffic offences and his early guilty plea in fining him $700 and six months disqualification for speeding, $1200 and 10 months for drink driving and $450 for failing to stop.
Convictions were recorded and disqualifications would be concurrent. He was given nine months to pay.
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