Melbourne father Paul Ager, 50 pleads guilty in Sunshine Magistrates’ Court to driving at dangerous speed on Armstrong Rd, Wyndham Vale
Dashcam footage has captured the moment two cars tried to overtake another on a western suburbs road before colliding, with one racing away at 120km/h.
West
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A Melbourne dad clocked at triple the speed limit blamed his offending on a previous road rage incident, a court heard.
Paul Ager pleaded guilty to driving at a dangerous speed in the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court last month following an incident at Wyndham Vale last year.
The court heard that on June 23, Ager was at the intersection of Black Forest and Armstrong roads next to another vehicle when both cars accelerated after the green light.
The dashcam footage, provided to police by Ager, shows the two drivers travel towards a merge point when the other takes front position.
Ager then moves onto the opposite side of the road to overtake the vehicle, as does the other driver, before a minor collision between the cars.
His vehicle, as recorded by the dashcam, then accelerates to 120km/h in a 40km/h zone after veering onto the grass island.
A man can be heard saying “f---ing d---head” from inside Ager’s vehicle as it accelerates away from the other car.
The Dire Straits song Walk of Life can also be heard from the sound system.
During sentencing on April 15, his lawyer said Ager was entitled to a significant discount as he provided the footage to police which they relied upon for his prosecution.
Police were first made aware of his offending as the other driver reported damage to their car.
The alleged driver of the green vehicle is also before the courts following the incident on a similar charge.
Ager’s lawyer said he was remorseful and embarrassed and highlighted it was not protracted offending but lasted a few seconds.
Magistrate Cynthia Lynch heard that Ager sped away in the moment because he was a victim of road rage in 2021 and while it did not excuse the speeding, he did it to avoid another confrontation.
He had no relevant priors in more than 30 years of driving.
Ahead of his plea, Ager completed a road trauma course and wrote a letter to the court to express his remorse.
He was supported by family in court.
Magistrate Lynch said his conduct was “stupid” and “objectively dangerous in all of the circumstances” but qualified that it was in stark contrast to hooning related behaviour that often attracted the same charge.
Ager’s licence was disqualified for 12 months and he was placed on an adjourned undertaking without conviction for the same period.
The alleged other driver is expected to appear before Werribee Magistrates’ Court on August 8.
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