Luke Atkins: Heavy-footed hoon blames bus, wet tyres for burnout
A fishtailing Frankston P-plater driving his ute tried to get a clean getaway after leaving a car wash. But cops were watching his every move.
South East
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A tyre-smoking tradie who did a super-sized sideways skid — in front of police — has escaped a driving ban.
Instead Frankston P-plater Luke Michael Atkins will have to do a road safety course and pay a fine.
The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to a careless driving charge at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The court heard at 8pm on January 14 this year a police patrol was passing a Frankston car wash when officers heard an engine revving loudly and the screeching of tyres.
They watched as Atkins accelerated heavily, swerved to the right, lost traction and swerved back to the left while hanging the back end of the ute out as he drove down a service lane.
He continued to fishtail wildly for between 50 and 100m while gunning the motor until he came to a stop right in front of police.
When asked why he had done the big burnout, he told officers he “was trying to beat a bus” out of the service lane.
His ute was impounded for 30 days.
Defence lawyer Lauren Kelly said this was the first time the youngster had been in trouble with the law, and he was extremely remorseful about his dangerous behaviour.
She said he had just left work and hadn’t intended to drive carelessly, but the combination of wet tyres from the car wash and his eagerness to get out in front of a bus meant he momentarily lost traction.
She said those factors, combined with his driving inexperience and a lack of weight in the back of the ute, meant the vehicle didn’t behave like he wanted it to.
She tendered a letter of regret from him to the court and said he had already paid a $1000 financial penalty by having his car confiscated for a month.
Magistrate Charles Tan said Atkins’ youth, lack of priors, solid character references and his acceptance of responsibility saved him from a driving ban.
But another similar indiscretion would not end the same way.
“What you did was incredibly dangerous to yourself, and to other road users,” Mr Tan said.
Atkins was fined $250 and ordered to do a safe driving program.
No conviction was recorded and no licence suspension was imposed.
