1 January 2022

Driver swap not enough to avoid arrest for driving offences, breach of bail

| David Murtagh
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Police car and motorcycle

The man will appear in the ACT Magistrates Court on Sunday morning. Photo: File.

A 40-year-old Nicholls man was arrested yesterday (31 December 2021) despite making an extraordinary attempt to avoid being caught for driving offences and breach of bail.

According to ACT Policing, at around 3:35 pm, police on patrol in Nicholls observed the man enter and drive an Isuzu truck. After following the vehicle into Gungahlin, officers stopped adjacent to the vehicle at traffic lights on The Valley Avenue where they indicated to the man driving to pull over.

Police will allege the man accelerated heavily after the lights changed to green and drove over the median strip on Gungahlin Drive before swerving several times onto Kosciuszko Avenue.

While the vehicle was moving, the officers observed the driver and his female passenger swapping their positions in the vehicle.

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After it stopped on Kosciuszko Avenue, police checks revealed the man’s licence had expired in February 2019. The man also returned a positive roadside test result to a prescribed drug. He was taken into custody for formal oral fluid analysis. This test returned positive indications to both methylamphetamine and cannabis.

The man, whose bail conditions included not driving unless licenced and not to drive with a prescribed substance in his blood or oral fluid, is due to face the ACT Magistrates Court on Sunday morning (2 January 2021).

He has been charged with drug driving, unlicenced driving and failing to stop for police.

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A somewhat smarter person would have been in the passenger seat in the first place.

Good work ACT Policing.

Out on bail seems to be in far too many news reports lately.

“The man, whose bail conditions included not driving unless licenced and not to drive with a prescribed substance in his blood or oral fluid”

Shouldn’t these be automatic conditions for all people on bail?

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