The Court: Frankston Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Mike Brown
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The client was travelling in the back seat of a car, and the front passenger had taken a video of the vehicle travelling at speeds of up to 240 km/hr. The video captured everybody in the car laughing and encouraging the driver to speed.
Victoria police air wing observed the vehicle travelling at high speeds and tracked and recorded the car. Police intercepted the vehicle, and the driver was subsequently arrested and charged.
Once police obtained the video recording from the passenger during the commission of the offence, our client was charged with three offences, including Conduct Endangering Life, Conduct Endangering Serious Injury and Dangerous Driving.
At Court:
The question was, at what point did our client stop encouraging the driver? There was a strong argument that our client was encouraging, aiding, and abetting the driver to drive at 185 km/hr speeds in a 100 km/hr zone. But she made no further sound once the car reached 185 km/hr. As there was definite encouragement up to 185 km/hr, there was a choice to make. She could face a charge of Reckless Conduct Endangering Serious Injury or Dangerous Driving.
A plea of guilty to the charge of Dangerous Driving at that speed attracts a minimum penalty of 12 months’ licence suspension. Reckless Conduct Endanger Serious Injury attracts no minimum period of time off the road and no demerit points. The third charge is far less severe (summary offence). Still, the second and third charges (indictable offences) meant the client could keep her license as these offences did not attract any mandatory licence losses. The client decided to face the more serious charge and keep her licence.
As a result, our solicitor negotiated the charges with prosecutors at case conferencing and indicated that we had instructions to enter a guilty plea to charge two, Conduct Endangering Serious Injury, for a withdrawal of charges one and three.
The Outcome:
The matter proceeded as a guilty plea, and lengthy submissions were made to the court. The Magistrate ordered that the client enter a 12-month good behaviour bond, which included a special condition that the client donate $500 to charity. No order was imposed on the client’s driver’s licence, and no recording of a conviction was made.
This was an excellent outcome considering the speeds involved. In some cases, holding onto a licence is simply the most important factor.
