Cops’ cruel twist for ‘visibly upset’ teen

Young driver gets a rude shock following a loophole that will cost thousands of dollars to fix.

NSW Police issued a teen driver with his third suspension, along with speeding and dangerous driver charges this week.

Highway Patrol officers detected a modified VW Golf GTI driving at 163km/h, more than double the 80km/h speed limit, at Bringelly in South West Sydney on Wednesday.

Police allege the man failed to make a turn, slid into a kerb and caused significant damage to the black Volkswagen.

Police charged a disqualified driver with speeding offences in September 2024. Photo: NSW Police

The driver then turned his lights off and drove away from police, before being blocked in a dead-end street.

Police said the man “had already been suspended on 2 previous occasions for speeding and losing too many demerit points”.

They were processing the driver’s fines and charges when the owner of the car arrived, and was “visibly upset at the state of his pride and joy”.

NSW Police charged a disqualified driver with speeding offences in September 2024. Photo: NSW Police

“He was even more upset when he was advised that his insurance won’t cover him due to the offences committed by his friend, leading to the crash,” police said on Facebook.

Insurance can refuse to pay to repair a car if its use does not meet the conditions of an insurance policy.

Those conditions stipulate that drivers must hold a valid licence and not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Other conditions can exclude young drivers, vehicles used for commercial purposes (such as ride sharing), drivers without medical clearance (such as people wearing a cast), and vehicles that are not roadworthy (with worn out brakes or tyres).

Drivers who aren’t licenced to drive particular cars, such as manual vehicles, cars that are off-limits to provisionary licence holders, or high performance cars in South Australia, may also struggle to have insurance claims paid out.

Originally published as Cops’ cruel twist for ‘visibly upset’ teen