Burnout lands man in court

By Monique Preston

Mar 21, 2023

In court: A man faced Shepparton Magistrates’ Court after doing a burnout in front of police. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

A P-plater who did a burnout in front of police has been fined $500.

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Sooraj Madhavla, 20, of Shepparton, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to careless driving and driving an unroadworthy vehicle.

Prosecutor Senior Constable Luke Lund told the court police saw Madhavla doing a burnout in Old Dookie Rd, Shepparton, at 4.30am on May 22 last year.

He also did a U-turn while doing the burnout.

The court heard, when he was stopped by police his tyres were bald and his vehicle was in an unroadworthy condition.

The Ford Falcon was impounded by police for 30 days.

Madhavla’s solicitor Luke Slater told the court his client — who is originally from New Zealand and came to Australia 13 or 14 years ago — was still young and was desperate to hold on to his licence, as he worked as a tyre fitter.

Mr Slater said Madhavla had admitted to police at the time that he had stuffed up.

Magistrate Peter Mithen fined Madhavla $500, but did not record a conviction.

He did not interfere with the man’s licence, but warned him to think about what he was doing before he did it in the future.

“The time to think about being desperate about your licence is not when you are in here (in court) with me, but when you are in the car thinking about doing a burnout,” he said.