A 33-YEAR-OLD man who drove recklessly when he was racing to get his partner to hospital was sentenced in the Launceston Magistrates Court to an eight-month home detention order.
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Aaron John Cochrane, of Ravenswood, pleaded guilty in February to one count of reckless driving and a count of driving a motor vehicle with an illicit drug in his system on February 22 last year.
Police were stopped on the side of the road in Henry Street when a red Holden utility accelerated as it went past them.
Near the railway crossing, he overtook a car on a blind crest where oncoming traffic could not be seen. He turned into Dowling Street without indication and when police activated lights he pulled over.
"He showed produced an expired driver's licence and admitted he was disqualified," police prosecutor Natalie Clark told the court.
A charge of driving while disqualified was dropped by police because it was accepted he was driving in a case of an emergency.
In sentencing, Magistrate Simon Brown said that it was fair to say the circumstances of the offending were exceptional.
"It was an emergency dash to the Launceston General Hospital," Mr Brown said.
He said the offending was a bad example of reckless driving involving speed and putting people at risk.
"It involved overtaking when unsafe to do so and some other irregular and dangerous moves at night," Mr Brown said.
He said the defendant's record was a poor one with six previous convictions under the Road Safety Alcohol and Drugs Act as well as negligent driving and evading police in 2011.
Mr Brown noted a submission from defence counsel Olivia Jenkins that Cochrane was employed and in a steady relationship.
He said a home detention order would promote rehabilitation by the defendant and allow him to continue working.
He said it would provide an element of punishment and general deterrent [to the community].
Mr Brown disqualified him from driving for 15 months.
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Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
