2 days ago
Road rule warning to Aussies after driver cops $1,775 fine, 22 demerit points in one go
Drivers are being reminded of their responsibility to follow the myriad rules of the road after one L-plater copped $1,775 in fines and a whopping 22 demerit points in one hit this past weekend.
NSW Traffic and Highway Patrol are holding the driver of a silver Saab convertible up as an example of what not to do after the male, who held a NSW Learner's class C licence, was caught doing 129km/h on the Hume Highway on Sunday.
It was the car's speed in the 110km/h zone near Penrose which initially alerted officers in Mittagong Highway Patrol to the driver's wrongdoing, but the offences didn't stop there.
The learner licence holder, who was not displaying yellow L plates on the front or the rear of the car, can only do a maximum speed of 90km/h, making his speed actually 39km over the limit.
After being stopped at 4.15 pm, officers then spotted a mobile phone positioned near the steering wheel playing a music video on YouTube.
"When questioned about this, the male swiped the screen to a map app and replied 'no, I'm not using it, just looking at the map'," officers said of the interaction. It is illegal for learner and provisional licence holders in NSW to use a phone for "any purpose", even for directions.
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When police questioned the female passenger about her role as a supervisor, she replied, "I was asleep," officers said. The offences resulted in numerous fines and demerit points. They included:
Exceeding speed over 30km/h, $1045 fine and five demerit points
Learner using a mobile phone, $410 fine and five demerit points
Not displaying L plates, $320 fine and two demerit points.
Because it was a long weekend and double demerit points were in place, the male driver accumulated a whopping 22 demerit points. Because learner drivers can only accumulate a maximum of four demerit points, he was automatically suspended from driving with a pending extension from NSW Transport.
The female passenger also copped a penalty infringement for failing to supervise.
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