WA Unauthorised Driving by a Learner Driver

[Corie]

Recently I was charged with the above while on a motorbike. I have a RE leaners permit for a bike and a full car license. My bike is fully registered and is sold with a compliance plate so it is equally legal as any car to be ridden on any road but
I race enduro motorcross and only got the learners permit because it was necessary so some races because we were riding on public roads. Because I only use the bike for competition I do not display L plates as it is not a requirement.
Unfortunately I was not aware that the RE learners means you must have an observer with you as we do not require an observer when competing, even when riding on public roads.

So I had been working on my bike getting it ready to sell because I am moving o/s for work. Part of the work I was performing on the bike meant I had to test ride it, numerous times. I had already test ridden it 3 times and the test ride was for about 1km there and back so 500m each way I was roughly 500m from my house when I approached a police car parked at a house at the point where I turned around. There were 3 officers standing next to the car. When I approached one of the officers stepped out and signaled me to pull over, which I did seeing I thought I had done nothing wrong.
After I pulled over and spoke to the police officer for a few minutes he informed me I needed an observer.

I am moving o/s for 6 months due to work and will be out of the country when the case is heard in Perth Magistrates court. My question is, can I write a letter to the court explaining the above circumstances and if so who do i give it to. Somebody told me I give it to the prosecution but that doesnt sound right to me. Why would the prosecutor read out a statement in my defense?

 

[Sarah J]

Hi Corie,

I would explain this to the Police (the same police officer responsible for your case or someone within the same department) and ask them to consider issuing you with a fine or reporting you to the road authorities for deduction of demerit points or suspension of licence. Explain your situation to the police, explain that this is your first offence and you were not aware of the observer rule and circumstances justifying why you did not know about the observer rule and assumed otherwise. The police is the person who decides whether to drop the charges against you and to seek something else instead, this is why you need to contact them.

When are you moving? Perhaps you could ask to have your hearing date moved forward? You would write to the court to explain your situation if you wish to have the hearing dates moved. I would recommend doing both if time is short.

 

[Phildo]

Unfortunately I was not aware that the RE learners means you must have an observer with you as we do not require an observer when competing, even when riding on public roads.

You'll cop a lot of sarcasm for that one from just about anyone you bounce it off.

It's well known that learner drivers must have supervision.

You could cook up a good excuse, such as you had a shadow (ie supervising rider) but you lost sight of them and elected to immediately return home.

With the court hearing, you can write a letter to the court and not appear at the hearing.

Have a look through Magistrates Court of Western Australia

If you choose to have a lawyer represent you, names such as David Manera and Jeremy Noble are amongst the ones that you'll want to speak with.