Motorist’s 15K in fines gets him ride to court

Man who had novice driver’s permit suspended 21 years ago, $15,000 in fines, taken into custody

Police hope a man who was supposed to have been learning to drive finally learned his lesson.

According to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, the 51-year-old was stopped by a patrol officer early Thursday morning in the west end of St. John’s for an undetermined traffic violation.

A licence check showed the man had a novice driver’s permit that had been suspended since 1998.

The man didn’t have an accompanying driver, was driving between midnight and 5 a.m. — which is outside the allowed curfew for beginners — and didn’t have a novice driver sign visible in the vehicle.

The officer also discovered the man had more than $15,000 in outstanding fines.

He was arrested and taken to court, and his vehicle was seized.

When asked how a novice driver could accumulate so many fines, RNC spokesman Const. James Cadigan said,

“It can happen if this person continues to accumulate ticket offences, such as no insurance on the vehicle, the vehicle’s not registered, moving violations and so forth.”

Cadigan said unlicenced drivers, when stopped by police, are given a master number to identify them for future incidents.

With some of these violations requiring drivers to pay up to $3,000 in fines, it doesn’t take long to add up, Cadigan said .

Cadigan couldn’t speak about details of the case or whether the man had been arrested before, but said, “Just a handful of these tickets, whether it’s these violations paired with other vehicle-related offences, it can add up.”