A western Victorian man will be without his licence until mid-2022 and is out of pocket more than $1000 after pleading guilty to two driving-related offences.
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Dyson Budge, 21, appeared in the Ararat Magistrates' Court on Friday, November 12, where he pleaded guilty to careless driving and driving with a suspended licence.
The apprentice steel fabricator was involved in a car accident in Ararat on Thursday, July 29, 2021.
The court heard Budge drove into the back of another vehicle that had stopped in the middle of the road to let in a reversing car.
Budge was deemed at fault for the accident.
While police officers questioned Budge at the scene, it was found he was driving with a suspended licence.
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Budge said he didn't know his licence was suspended as he had not received any notification of the change via mail.
The court heard police checks of the VicRoads records showed the information about Budge's licence was posted, but Budge had failed to update his postal address.
Budge's defence lawyer Nick Graham said his client had an "honest belief was able to drive, but acknowledges that he drove disqualified".
"My client needs to go to Ballarat for trades school for a week a month and while he doesn't necessarily need his licence for work duties, the task of living without a licence is stressful," Mr Graham said.
"I ask that Your Honour makes no additional orders against my client's licence."
When sentencing Budge, Magistrate Martin said the offender's actions were at a low level of careless driving and considered his early guilty plea.
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"Careless driving covers a wide range of driving styles," Magistrate Martin said.
"At one end of the scale is someone doing wheelies or burnouts, and that is someone driving in a reckless or careless manner.
"At the other end of the scale is someone who may have been momentarily distracted and an accident occurred.
"In regards to the suspended licence charge, I accept you were not aware. I am satisfied that fines are adequate in all of the circumstances."
Magistrate Martin said Budge's licence would remain suspended until Sunday, March 6, 2022, issued an aggregate fine of $1100 and ordered to pay court costs totalling $129.30.
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