OHAKUNE DISTRICT COURT

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 424, 18 February 1992, Page 5

OHAKUNE DISTRICT COURT

"Entirely avoidable" Colin Barry Phillips, 36, unemployed of Raetihi, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless use of a motor vehicle causing injury on State Highway 4 on 22 October. Defendant had been driving north on the Parapara Road towards Raetihi when he failed to see a set of roadwork signs well in advance of heavy machinery and work in progress requiring a reduction of speed to 30 km/h. His explanation was that he had been talking to his passengers and did not notice the signs but, as he came round a corner, he suddenly saw the roadworking machinery in ffom of him. In attempting to avoid a collision with the MoW vehicles he pulled ' over to the other side of the road but collided head-on with another vehicle travelling in the

opposite direction. The collision resulted in $4,000 damage to the complainant's vehicle and $6,000 damage to the vehicle he was driving but which was not his own (it had been borrowed by defendant). Defendant had already paid for the repair work on the borrowed vehicle and had paid $1,500 towards the damage caused to complainant's vehicle. In convicting and fining defendant $300 (to be paid to complainant for loss of earnings while in hospital), and imposing court costs of $85, Judge Watson said that the accident had been entirely avoidable had the defendant been paying attention to his driving instead of talking to his passengers. He was disqualified for 9 months. Counsel: Paul Brown. Lotto fever Peter $ydney Low, 23,

of River Road, Pipiriki, pleaded guilty to one charge of driving with excess breath alcohol and to one charge of exceeding the speed limit on $aturday, 3 August last year. Court heard how, with a breath alcohol reading of 600:1, defendant had been apprehended after driving at 102 km/h in a 50 km/h area of Auckland. In explanation he had told the traffic officer he was in a hurry to get to the Lotto shop before it closed ... "It's a $4 million dollar night", he said. On the excess breath alcohol charge he was sentenced to 60 hours community service and disqualified for 6 months. On the charge of exceeding the speed limit, he was convicted and fined $100, court costs $85. Turnpage6