Bailey Clout wins appeal against driving disqualification

A young man, who took off in a dog wash van while its owners and a four-legged client were inside, launched a court bid to be back on the road sooner. Now, the result of his appeal has been revealed.

A Bundaberg man, who stole and crashed a mobile dog-wash van while a dog and two people were still, inside has had his license disqualification halved to 12 months.

The decision came about after an appeal lodged with the District Court of Queensland last month.

Bailey Clout had previously pleaded guilty in Bundaberg Magistrates Court in April, 2022 to one charge of unlawful use of a motor vehicle and one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle resulting from the dog-wash van offence on November 16, 2021.

For the unlawful use of the dog-wash van, Clout was fined $500 plus $750 for the dangerous use charge, as well as being disqualified from driving for two years.

According to the appeal documents, owners of the mobile dog grooming business were washing a dog inside the rear trailer when Clout stole the vehicle.

“The dog ran out of the trailer, but the complainants were left inside, when the appellant drove the vehicle away at speed.

“The appellant cut in front of other vehicles. Hose connections fell onto the road in traffic. The complainants were screaming for help, and both the complainants and witnesses called emergency services.

Bailey Clout.

“The appellant parked the vehicle in a nearby street and ran from the scene.

“One of the complainants was taken to hospital for shock. The appellant was sentenced on the basis that he did not know that there were people in the trailer of the vehicle.”

At the time of sentencing, Clout had a number of other offences in his “extensive” criminal history, including periods of imprisonment for violent crime and car theft.

The theft of the dog-wash van had breached terms previously imposed on Clout by the district court, which is why the dog-wash van incident – while dealt with in the magistrate's court – triggered his re-sentencing in a higher court on May 13, 2022.

It was there he was ordered to serve the whole of a previous two-year suspended prison term from prior offending, but with immediate parole eligibility.

However, in the process of the appeal, the court was told that Clout‘s disqualification period, originally handed down in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court, had been “manifestly excessive” and the acting magistrate at the time had erred by not inviting submissions on the period of disqualification, and further by not stating reasons for the two-year penalty.

“The respondent (court) submits, however, that given the seriousness of the offences for which the appellant was sentenced and his criminal and traffic history, the court would consider that no other disqualification period less than two years is appropriate and would dismiss the appeal,” documents read.

Clout argued for his disqualification period to be cut to six months, so he could get on the road as soon as he was of jail.

“I really need my license for job opportunities when I am released it makes it a lot harder to get one without it,” he said in his appeal.

“Also, if I was to lose it for six months then by the time I get out, I can get my Ps straight away and I will be able to drive around legally for the first time in my life.

“Most of the time I have come to jail recently have been for driving but I will be able to use my mother’s spare car and drive legally so I will be a lot less likely to commit any more driving crimes.”

Ultimately, it was found that the weight of circumstances involved in punishment and rehabilitation made the two-year sentence too high.

The appeal was allowed, and Clout’s disqualification period was reduced to 12 months.

His other sentences remain unchanged.