STATE OF TASMANIA v DILLON ROBERT MITCHELL 10 JUNE 2021
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE GEASON J
Mr Mitchell you have pleaded guilty to dangerous driving contrary to s 172A of the Criminal Code.I am also sentencing you for summary matters pursuant to s 385A of the Criminal Code. One of those matters is a charge of evading police, and another is a charge of having alcohol in your blood whilst a learner driver not permitted to have alcohol present in your system. Each of those matters requires a separate penalty.
The indictable matter, the charge of dangerous driving, occurred on 6 December 2019 in the early evening. Police were conducting observations of a Ford sedan bearing the registration plate “ON BAIL”. These plates were false. You were the driver. That vehicle pulled out of Ashbolt Cresent in Lutana and drove towards the location of the police officers. You came to a stop; you were facing a police officer, and just a few metres apart. You reversed the car quickly for approximately 200 metres before doing a 180 degree turn. An intercept was attempted unsuccessfully by police. You accelerated towards Chestnut Avenue. As you did you were travelling on the incorrect side of the road. You were observed to lose traction and you were cutting corners. You nearly collided with a parked vehicle. Police pursued you with emergency lights and sirens activated. You turned from Chestnut Avenue into Lennox Avenue, losing traction again due to your rapid acceleration; your speed estimated to be between 70 and 80 km/h on that road. On Lennox Avenue another vehicle travelling in the opposite direction had to take evasive action to avoid a collision with you. You were continually losing traction, driving on the wrong side of the road and cutting corners whilst driving along Lennox Avenue.
You turned into Risdon Road heading towards the New Town Bay Golf Course, and accelerated rapidly again, at which point the police disengaged pursuit because of the assessed risk to the public. They lost sight of you. The pursuing officers returned to the Brooker Highway, where you were observed. This time you approached the police car from behind. You overtook it at speed estimated to be between 80 and 90 km/h; you lost control causing the rear of your vehicle to slide. You then overtook a member of the public, travelling at a speed of between 80 and 90 km/h, on a portion of road with a sweeping left bend. Police lost sight of you at this point and a cordon was put in place. However, police were informed by a member of the public that your vehicle had turned down a side road off Risdon Road. Your vehicle was located there shortly after, abandoned.
At all times whilst you were being pursued emergency lights and sirens were activated, and it was evident that police were pursuing you, which you have accepted by your plea of guilty to the charge of evading police.
The course of your driving was over a distance of about 2.3 kilometres. It placed a number of people at risk. At the time the road was slippery due to earlier rain, though overall the weather was considered fine and visibility was not impaired. Traffic flow was light.
You are now 26 years of age. You completed year 10 prior to commencing an apprenticeship, and you are currently employed with Kingston Paint and Panel as a panel-beater. You have worked with that business for approximately 18 months. I have been provided with a reference by your employer, which indicates that you have been a hard-working and reliable employee, and a have a good work ethic. You are described as good natured and honest. The author of that reference is aware of the charges before the Court.
You spend most of your leisure time working on cars, and you are involved with “drift” cars and working on these vehicles for racing.
You are currently single and apparently content with that. You have a good relationship with your father and step-mother.
There is no suggestion of you consuming any illicit substances, and any alcohol consumption appears to me to be moderate.
In relation to your offending you have characterised your actions as “dead-set stupid”, and it is put to me in mitigation, and reiterated in the pre-sentence report that has been prepared for me that you understand that your conduct could have had a significant impact on other road users. You had consumed some alcohol, though I accept that that was not an excessive consumption in the sense that the reading which was returned was a low one, but obviously in the circumstances of your status as a L2 learner, you are not permitted to have any alcohol in your body whilst driving. Your record of prior convictions indicates that you have been convicted of a similar offence before, on two occasions, and your ambivalence towards your obligations in this respect, and to road use generally, cannot be ignored when framing penalty. The penalty I impose must emphasise to you that you are not permitted to drive with alcohol in your body, and that you have an obligation to observe the law in this respect. For someone who places driving and driving related activities at the centre of your work and social interests, it is difficult to understand how you can continue to offend in a way which curtails your capacity to enjoy that pursuit because of the inevitable disqualifications which follow.
You acknowledge that you ought to have stopped when police commenced following you, and whilst you appear to have some issues with the precise estimates of speed, you concede that you were exceeding the relevant speed limits at all times. I accept that you have significant experience in handling motor vehicles, and that will have some bearing upon the actual danger created by your act of driving. In view of the seriousness of your conduct overall, the weight afforded to that factor – to your experience can only be minor.
The Parliament regards the offence of dangerous driving as a serious one, reflected in the fact that it is indictable and dealt with in this Court. I take account of the nature of your driving, its duration, the fact that it occurred in an attempt to evade police and that there is actual evidence of other road users having had to take evasive steps. There is a need to deter others from such driving behaviour and the penalty I impose must make it clear to others that this sort of offending will result in severe punishment. From the point of view of personally deterring you, it is necessary, having regard to the fact that you have offended before on numerous occasions, that I impose a penalty which serves to deter you from similar conduct in the future. It has been urged upon me by your counsel that I should make a home detention order. The question for the Court is whether in the circumstances such order adequately punishes you and deters other road users. Ordinarily I would consider such course to be inappropriate for offending such as this. In your circumstances however, because you are gainfully employed and appear to me to exhibit diligence in pursuing that employment, and I accept that if you are imprisoned you will lose that employment, I have decided that such an order may be made and fulfil the sentencing obligations imposed upon me. It is clear from the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal in DPP v King and Webb that a home detention order does have a deterrent effect, both general and personal, and I consider that such order, accompanied with the licence cancellation that will follow from your offending, coupled with community service work, will have the requisite punitive effect to deter you and others from this sort of offending. It will mean that you can keep your employment.
Mr Mitchell, I convict you. In respect of the charge of dangerous driving I order that you serve a period of home detention of 16 months. That order is subject to the core conditions, as well as special conditions as follows:
- 1 During the operational period of the order you are to remain at [the specified address] at all times unless approved by a probation officer to leave that address;
- 2 Upon your release from the Court you must attend the Community Corrections Office at Highfield House within 24 hours for induction into the order;
- 3 During the operational period of the order you must maintain in operating condition an active mobile phone service, provide the contact details to Community Corrections and be accessible for contact through this device at all times;
- 4 You must submit to the supervision of a community corrections officer as required by that officer;
- 5 During the operational period of the order you must not take any illicit or prohibited substance including any controlled drug as defined by the Misuse of Drugs Act 2001, or any medication containing an opiate, benzodiazepine, bupropion, hydrochloride or pseudoephedrine unless you provide written evidence from your medical practitioner that you have been prescribed such medication.
I further direct that you are to complete 120 hours of community service as part of a Community Corrections Order which will operate for a period of 24 months.
In respect of the charge of evade police, I fine you $1000 and you are disqualified from holding or obtaining a drivers licence for a period of 3 years. Your licence is cancelled.
In respect of the charge of having alcohol present in your body, count 7 on the complaint, this is your third offence of this type. I disqualify you from holding or obtaining a drivers licence for a period of 3 years to run concurrently with the disqualification I have just imposed in relation to the charge of evading police. I fine you a further $1000.
In respect to the other summary matters to which you have pleaded guilty, I record convictions