Drink-driver on toy scooter is banned from the roads

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A ride on a toy scooter after drinking has left Adam Petty poorer — and walking.

Petty, 25, pleaded guilty to riding a “little electric toy scooter” after having had a few drinks.

He was arrested near his Woodbourne Avenue home at around 8.40pm on July 14 after officers saw him riding the scooter, which has a maximum speed of 15mph.

Seeing the officers, Petty turned the vehicle around and rode away from them, Magistrates’ Court heard.

The officers followed Petty and questioned him about why he had turned around. Petty responded: “I shouldn’t have been riding, so I put it down. I just want to go home.”

Asked if he had been drinking, he told police that he had four or five drinks over the course of the day. He was subsequently arrested and taken to Hamilton Police Station, where he provided officers with a sample of breath.

The lowest reading showed that Petty had 214mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, more than double the legal limit of 80mg.

Petty initially denied the charge of driving while impaired, but appearing in court he admitted that he had been driving while over the legal blood-alcohol limit.

He also pleaded guilty to riding a vehicle that was unlicensed and did not have third party insurance.

Lawyer Richard Horseman, representing Petty, acknowledged that the vehicle described as a “little electric toy scooter” was technically considered an auxiliary cycle under the 1954 Auxiliary Bicycles Act.

However, he said the unusual nature of the vehicle could amount to special circumstances, allowing Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner the discretion to not suspend Petty’s licence.

Mr Horseman described the case as “peculiar,” noting the battery-powered scooter has a top speed of around 15mph.

“We all know the mischief that drunk driving laws are meant to correct,” he said. “You can inflict serious harm on yourself, and you can inflict serious harm on other people.

“In this case there’s very little harm that could come to anybody.”

However Mr Warner ruled that the details of the case did not amount to special circumstances, disqualifying Petty from driving all vehicles for a period of 12 months and fining him $800 for the offence.

He further fined Petty $250 for riding an unlicensed vehicle and $500 for riding a vehicle without third party insurance.

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