A P-plater caught on a Blue Mountains mobile phone detection camera, has had his suspension period reduced in Mudgee Local Court, but was warned the driving that landed him with the penalty was "so unsafe it's unbelievable".
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The penalty for offending drivers detected by the cameras is five demerit points and a $349 fine, which rises to $464 if the offence occurs in a school zone. The 18-year-old man held a Provisional P1 licence, which has a four demerit point limit and was therefore suspended for three months.
His appeal was dismissed in court, however in lieu the suspension period was reduced to three weeks.
Had the appeal been upheld, no suspension period would've been imposed. And even though Magistrate David Day said he didn't want to create undue hardship, with regards to the Grattai man needing his licence for his employment, he indicated that a suspension period should be served due to the nature of the offence.
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Magistrate Day observed the photo that had been taken at 3.32pm on July 31 and commented on what it depicted. "Not only do you have both hands on the device, but the passenger is steering the vehicle, that's so unsafe it's unbelievable," he said.
The court also heard the offence had occurred on the Great Western Highway at Blackheath.
Magistrate Day said that with the traffic light intersections and speed zone changes across the Blue Mountains "it wouldn't take much of a lapse in concentration to cause a collision".
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