A woman has incurred 34 demerit points in one incident after being stopped while driving through Katoomba yesterday.
Officers attached to the Motorcycle Response Group (MRG) saw a woman using her mobile phone while negotiating a roundabout in the main street of Katoomba about 2pm yesterday (Friday 27 December 2019).
Police further allege none of her passengers – three children and a man – were wearing seatbelts.
The woman has been issued with five penalty notices (one for mobile phone and four for the unrestrained passengers); for a total of $1793 in fines and 34 demerits points.
She was one of dozens of drivers stopped during Operation Safe Arrival operations, which started Friday 20 December 2019 and continues until 11.59pm on New Year's Day (Wednesday 1 January 2020).
Another stand-out from Day 8 results was the number of drivers stopped who turned out to have disqualified licences yet were still driving on NSW roads.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Command's Assistant Commissioner, Michael Corboy, said it was staggering that disqualified drivers risked being detected breaching their licence conditions, even during a time of high-visibility operations like this.
"If these drivers have a record sufficiently serious that the court has disqualified them from driving – some for extended periods of time – then these drivers should show responsibility, respect the court decision and abide by their ruling," Assistant Commissioner Corboy.
In similar incidents,
• A 25-year-old woman was stopped by Bankstown Highway Patrol officers about 11.30am yesterday on Cooper Street, Birrong, when police detected her driving at more than 100km/h in a 60km/h zone. Checks revealed her P2 licence was suspended and she was issued with fines for speeding and drive while unlicensed.
• General duties officers from Orange were called to Summer Street, Orange, about 1.35pm yesterday, after a 51-year-old woman allegedly hit a parked car and drove from the scene. The woman was stopped in Maxwell Avenue after a short pursuit and was arrested and taken to Orange Police Station where she returned a BAS reading of 0.198. Checks revealed the woman, from Orange, had had her licence cancelled and her vehicle was unregistered and uninsured. The woman is due to appear in Orange Local Court on a date to be set. Three children and two adults were in the vehicle allegedly struck by the woman and were distressed by the incident.
• Wollongong Highway Patrol Police stopped a 50-year-old Warrawong man about 12.30pm on Montague Street, North Wollongong, where it was discovered he'd been disqualified till 2022. He was issued with fines for drive while disqualified, and drive while unregistered and uninsured. The same man was stopped about 40 minutes later and has now been issued with a Future Court Attendance Notice (FCAN) for the same offences.
• Nyngan Highway Patrol officers stopped a 23-year-old ACT man on the Mitchel Highway about 10am on Thursday (26 December 2019), when his vehicle was detected travelling at 145km/h in a 11km/h zone. A licence check revealed he was also a disqualified driver. A FCAN has been issued for the man to appear in Nyngan Local Court on Thursday 20 February 2020.
• General duties officers from Forbes stopped a 53-year-old man on Parkes Road at Forbes about 3.45am yesterday, for the purpose of a roadside breath test. Checks revealed the driver was unlicensed; he also returned a positive breath test which resulted in a reading of 0.171 back at the station. The man, from Forbes, is due to appear in court at a date to be determined.
• General duties officers from Bathurst stopped a 39-year-old man on Bentinck Street, Bathurst, about 3am today (Saturday 28 December 2019), where a licence check revealed he was disqualified until 2022. He was arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station and charged. He is due to appear in Bathurst Local Court on Monday 13 January 2020.
• General duties officers from Moree stopped a 40-year-old man on Gosport Street about 7.15pm yesterday after he failed to stop at a stop sign. A licence check revealed the man was a disqualified driver and his vehicle's registration had been cancelled. He's been charged with not stop at/before stop line/stop sign, use unregistered registrable Class A motor vehicle, drive motor vehicle while disqualified, and use uninsured vehicle. He's due to appear in Moree Local Court on Monday 27 January 2020.
• General duties officers from Gunnedah arrested a 17-year-old driver after she returned a positive roadside breath test on Bridge Street, Gunnedah, about 1.45am today. The woman was taken to Gunnedah Police Station where she returned a BAS reading of 0.075. She's due to appear in Gunnedah Local Court on Tuesday 7 January. Checks also revealed the supervising passenger's driving privileges had been revoked in NSW until 2020.
Key statistics (progressive total) Day 8:
• Speed infringements: 7439
• Breath tests: 314,852
• PCA: 404
• Major crashes: 559
• Fatalities: 7
Motorists are urged to check for road closures prior to travelling at www.livetraffic.com. Always allow extra time to account for holiday traffic and remember to 'give way to safety', especially during the bushfire emergency.
