A REPEAT driving offender left a courtroom with little sympathy from a magistrate, after he struggled to accept the 50-year-old's explanation.
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Steven Shane Ellery of Hartwood Avenue, Robin Hill faced Bathurst Local Court on June 14, 2023 where he pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended licence.
Ellery was behind the wheel of a blue Isuzu D-Max about 10.40am on May 10, 2023 where he was seen by police to do a U-turn over double white lines on Vale Road in Bathurst, court documents said.
Officers stopped Ellery and asked for his licence, which he gave.
Police did checks and found he had been suspended from March 14 to September 13 for demerit point loss.
The court heard Ellery told police he knew he was suspended but had tried to submit a request for a good behaviour bond by the RMS website.
But he told police he had not got any confirmation.
Ellery was issued with a court attendance notice for driving and was given an infringement notice for the U-turn.
Sentence
Defence solicitor Shane Cunningham built on Ellery's explanation to police during sentencing, repeating to the court that his client was under the impression his bond request was granted.
"He was shocked when he was told by police that his licence was still suspended ... he wasn't ignorant," Mr Cunningham said.
In response, Magistrate D Pearce said Ellery had been in this situation before given his "terrible" driving record and "should have known".
"He's done it before. He's got one of the worst driving records I've seen," Mr Pearce said.
"He was suspended because of his habit to use a phone while driving during a demerit point period. He was caught doing that again.
"He's got experience on the road, he should have known better."
Ellery was fined $600 and disqualified from driving for four months.
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