Benjamin Bernard Derksen pleads guilty to driving without a licence

A former Gold Coast outlaw motorcycle club member has narrowly avoided jail after facing Kingaroy court for an offence he has served time for once before.

Benjamin Bernard Derksen at the Kingaroy courthouse

A former member of a Gold Coast outlaw motorcycle club who moved to the South Burnett to escape that lifestyle has narrowly avoided jail after being convicted of driving while disqualified.
Benjamin Bernard Derksen, 34, pleaded guilty at Kingaroy Magistrates Court on Monday to driving while disqualified.

Police prosecutor Lisa Manns said about 1am on April 22, 2024, Derksen was stopped by police on Youngman St in Kingaroy.

Sergeant Manns said he initially identified himself as Ben Bernard White. However, a police check revealed his true identity as Benjamin Bernard Derkson, whose licence had been disqualified since June 22, 2017.

The court heard Derksen informed the police he had been driving to and from work due to the lack of public transport in the area.

Sgt Manns highlighted Derksen’s history of driving offences, including a previous prison term for driving while disqualified.

In 2018, he was convicted of multiple driving offences, resulting in a two-month imprisonment and a four-year licence disqualification.

Sgt Manns acknowledged Dirkson hadn’t had a driving conviction since 2018 but argued another period of imprisonment was “within range” for the latest offence.

Benjamin Bernard Derksen, 34, pleaded guilty at Kingaroy Magistrates Court on Monday to driving while disqualified.

The court also heard that Derkson had been charged with driving unlicensed in January 2016 and continued to drive unlicensed even while awaiting the finalisation of his charges.

Derksen’s lawyer, Sonja Stevens, described his employment as a fitter and machinist at a Kingaroy processing plant, a job he had held for eight months since moving from the Gold Coast.

Ms Stevens said Derksen’s earlier driving offences, primarily speeding, stemmed from his involvement with an outlaw motorcycle club, which led to reckless behaviour and eventual licence loss in 2016.

“At age 25, he joined a motorcycle club and developed a cavalier attitude towards speeding signs on the road,” Ms Stevens said.

She said membership to the outlaw motorcycle club “led to other behaviours” and Derkson began drinking but eventually left the club in 2016 after feeling “disillusioned” with the lifestyle.

“As we move into 2017 … he’s still in the grips of that lifestyle,” Ms Stevens said.

“He was drinking, he was depressed and he was suicidal.”

Benjamin Bernard Derksen, 34, pleaded guilty at Kingaroy Magistrates Court on Monday to driving while disqualified.

After being cumulatively disqualified from driving for nine years in 2017, Derkson faced incarceration in 2018 for driving while disqualified

“Being incarcerated was a huge wake up call for him,” Ms Stevens said.

“Because of his previous affiliation, he went straight to maximum security and it was terrifying.

“He served a full two months and when he was released he turned his life around,” she said.

Ms Stevens said Derksen “knuckled down” and got a job on the Gold Coast where he worked for five years in the tourism sector before moving to the South Burnett.

The court heard Derksen’s wife initially drove him to and from work before her circumstances changed and he “made the choice to drive”.

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair called Derksen’s actions a “blatant disregard of the rules of driving”.

He said that had Derkson applied for a licence reinstatement, it would have been granted. Derkson appeared shocked by this revelation.

“I can guarantee you I would have given you your licence back. I can absolutely guarantee you that,” Mr Sinclair said.

“I had in mind to sentence you to six months imprisonment to serve two months and a period of disqualification.”

However, he noted Derksen hadn’t had any offences since 2018 and his decision to leave the outlaw motorcycle club was to his credit.

“You clearly have turned your life around and you’re now a completely different person to what you were in 2016 and 2017,” Mr Sinclair said.

Derksen received six-months imprisonment wholly suspended for three years and was further disqualified from driving for two years.

Convictions were recorded.