Police didn’t impound a Mornington law-breaker’s $500,000 Porsche. Why?
He’s had five drink-drive convictions, but when police pulled over this Mornington man and found him without a court-ordered interlock device in his $500,000 Porsche, they still let him drive it. Here’s why.
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He’s had five drink-driving convictions, but when this Mornington man was found to have no court-ordered interlock device in his $500k Porsche after police pulled him over, they still let him drive it.
He avoided the impounding of his $500,000 luxury sports car because it was too low to go on a tow truck.
Anthony Dodson, who has a terrible traffic history, retained the use of his “fluoro 911” after he was pulled up for driving without an interlock fitted.
This was because police officers arresting him feared it may not be able to get on a tow truck due to its low height. They even let him drive home.
Mr Ayres said Dodson has a “terrible driving record”, including five drink-driving and three driving while suspended or disqualified priors, and one previous interlock breach.
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The Mornington 52-year-old pleaded guilty to driving without an interlock at Dromana Magistrates’ Court this morning.
The court heard he was seen in the luminous 911 by a police patrol on Marine Drive, Safety Beach at 12.45pm on September 30 last year.
His car was flagged as a vehicle requiring the driver to have a device fitted, but when he was pulled up, none was present.
He had been told in 2014 to put an interlock on every vehicle he drives for a period of five years as a condition of getting his licence back.
He admitted to officers that he should have had one, saying he had just bought this car, and was getting a device fitted in a “couple of weeks”.
His lawyer told the court Dodson was worried about his daughter, who had just had surgery, and didn’t have access to his other interlocked car so drove his “bucket-list $500,000 Porsche 911 instead”.
He said Dodson had learned a lesson from this “isolated” and “spontaneous” incident.
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Magistrate Julian Ayres said he did not accept that, considering his terrible past.
“He has gone and bought a high-end vehicle, without an interlock, and driven it,” he said.
“It is not spontaneous to go and acquire a fluoro Porsche.
“He took a risk (driving with no interlock), and he didn’t get away with it.”
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The police prosecutor told the court that the car was so low to the ground it was almost impossible to get on a tow truck, “so very hard to impound”.
Mr Ayres, upon hearing that the car was not impounded, blasted the loophole.
“He shouldn’t have been allowed to drive home; I have seen many cases where cars were impounded for much less,” he said.
Dodson was convicted and fined $1200.