Brett Daniel Matton pleads guilty to driving while high-speed suspended
A court heard a Bowen man was driving around on a suspended licence ‘gloating police couldn’t get him’. Here’s what happened when they did.
Police & Courts
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A Whitsunday pizza delivery man will be looking for a new line of work after losing his licence for driving while high-speed suspended.
Brett Daniel Matton has been taken off the road for 12 months for driving in Bowen on two separate occasions after his licence was suspended for exceeding the speed limit by more than 40km/h.
Bowen Magistrates Court heard Matton’s licence was suspended for six months from August 10, and CCTV cameras captured him driving to the Caltex service station on Richmond Road less than a week later.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors told the court an informant contacted police about 8.20pm on August 16 to tell them Matton was driving near the service station “gloating that police couldn’t get him”, and CCTV footage confirmed the report.
Sgt Myors said police caught Matton driving again on August 23, pulling him over on Herbert Street about 9.15pm.
Representing himself in court on Tuesday, Matton said he was unaware his licence was suspended at the time of the offences as he “didn’t receive paperwork in relation to that”.
The Bowen and Airlie Beach Domino’s delivery driver also told the court he had been “involved in a truck accident that resulted in a fatality” on August 8 and had sustained injuries in that incident that were “substantial enough to cause amnesia at that point in time”.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra fined Matton $800 and disqualified his licence for 12 months.
Mr Turra said he reduced the fine amount in recognition the disqualification would mean Matton lost his job and was “clearly going to have some difficulty to pay it”.
“It’s not the end of the world for you, it’s a lesson”, Mr Turra said.
“Don’t drive, wait out this 12 months, and then when you get your licence back, be very aware of how much you should guard your licence, jealously.
“And don’t exceed the speed limit by more than 40 kilometres – that’s inevitably what brought you here, and then disregarding the suspensions that were imposed because of that.”
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