Driver makes no excuse for dangerous passing actions

An unlicensed Taranaki driver put the lives of others at risk, as well as his own, when his dangerous highway passing tactics almost caused two crashes and resulted in him temporarily losing control of his BMW, a court heard yesterday.

Until June this year, Tipene Hohua Martin had steered clear of trouble, but within the space of an afternoon committed three driving offences, which Judge David Smith said had the potential of ‘‘writing off himself and others’’.

The New Plymouth District Court heard how Martin was driving southbound on a stretch of the Kawatiri-murchison highway in the Tasman district of the South Island on June 3, about 3pm, and was seen passing vehicles despite double yellow lines being in place, and there being no clear visibility to do so safely.

At one point, the driver of a vehicle Martin had attempted to pass had to pull to the side of the road to avoid a crash.

After deliberately slowing down after passing traffic, the 24-year-old put his foot down again, hitting a top speed of 105kph in a 100km zone, which attracted the attention of a nearby police patrol unit. Officers activated the car’s blue and red flashing lights and followed Martin, who pulled away at speed.

Trying to navigate a sweeping corner, Martin’s BMW veered into the oncoming lane and into the path of another motorist, who had to swerve to avoid a collision.

At this stage, police stopped pursuing Martin, but another patrol car spotted the defendant further along the highway.

Martin had temporarily lost control of his car as he took a corner, and he and the vehicle were found a short time later by police. By then, Martin had swapped seats with his passenger, who had taken over the driving, the police summary said.

Judge Smith told Martin, who had no previous convictions, that he was familiar with the road referred to in the case.

‘‘You certainly wouldn’t want to run off it, you’d kill yourself and your passenger.’’

From the dock, Martin said he had ‘‘no excuse’’ for his actions and was aware he would face a driving disqualification of six months.

In addition, he was fined $700 and ordered to serve a three-month term of community detention.