Scooters are not toys

My Red Baby

April 10th Can't Come Soon Enough!

Today I received a letter about a ticket I got a month ago. After a cornhole tournament, Dave decided to ride on the back of my bike. He had gone to the tournament via train because he knew he would be drinking at the games and I followed a few hours later on my scooter. To ensure we wouldn't get caught, we removed the ‘P’ provisional plate because P licence holders are not allowed to have carry passengers. We drove steadily from Waverton over the Sydney Harbour Bridge back towards Elizabeth Bay where we live.

At North Sydney, a police car from Homebush (what was it doing in North Sydney?!) began to tail us. We drove at the speed limit being careful around the police car and surrounding cars. As soon as we pulled off to turn back into the city from the expressway, lights and horns began to sound and I swallowed hard.

I pulled over immediately and an old policeman appeared telling Dave to get off and walk around the corner. He asked me to drive around the corner off of the expressway. I stopped when I was just around the corner and he beeped hard at me to keep moving forward. I was so nervous. I thought you are supposed to do exactly what the law enforcer wanted you to do. He appeared again and asked if we had been drinking. I had a sip or two, but that was hours ago. I passed the Breathalyzer test. He then asked where my P plates were and if the bike was mine. He left us for a few minutes.

Every possible situation ran through our minds. We were sure to get a fine for breaking not 1 but 2 road laws, but this was our first offence. Would it be possible for us to get a warning? In the end, we had 2 fines for each of the violations; not displaying the P plate and carrying a passenger. The $600 fine hurt, but we learned our lesson and would be sure to never do it again.

So when I received the letter of suspension a month later, both Dave and I were in shock! We had already suffered the consequence of the hefty fine and now my licence would be suspended for 3 months! We called the RTA (road transit authority), but they offered no assistance. I wouldn't be able to move the date sooner and there was no way we had time or the case to appeal in court.

The traffic laws are strict in Australia and scooters are not toys to do what you want with them. This lesson is will be learned the hard way. See you red baby on April 10.