A French national who racked up a staggering 1,606 demerit points in four months has fled Australia and may never be held responsible for his dangerous behaviour.
The man suspected of using fake French documents to obtain a NSW provisional license racked up so many demerit points it was enough for him to lose his license 123 times.
He was also fined $114,485, but not a cent of that amount has been paid and is unlikely to be paid as he is unlikely to return to Australia.
The 355 crimes he committed over a four-month period between December 2023 and April 2024 averaged more than three a day.
Incredibly, the driver was arrested by New South Wales Police after receiving 11 penalties. However, an individual’s traffic record is not updated in real time in the police system.
The Demerit Points Integrity Task Force has promised to crack down on this type of criminality and Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is working with the French consulate to try to identify and prevent fraud, Daily Telegraph reported.
In a similar case, another French national accumulated 553 demerit points before fleeing Australia when authorities and the police computer system finally caught up with him.
It’s not just immigrants who mock the system.
A man who racked up a staggering 1,606 demerit points in four months has fled Australia and may never be held accountable for his dangerous behaviour. stock image
A man from Ultimo, in inner-city Sydney, racked up enough demerit points on one day last June to lose his license almost 11 times.
He was caught speeding 15 times, running red lights twice and illegally using his phone, which earned him 141 demerit points as it was a holiday weekend and he was given double demerits.
In a three-month period, he committed 123 driving violations, which was equivalent to 580 demerit points.
His license has since been cancelled.
NSW Roads Minister John Graham said some foreigners are getting away with leaving the country before the law catches up with them.
The terrible driver, suspected of using fake French documents to obtain a NSW licence, scored so many demerit points that it was enough for him to lose his license 123 times. In the photo, a police officer uses a speed radar.
“Accumulating more than 1,600 demerit points is unimaginably reckless,” Graham told the Daily Telegraph.
‘The magnitude of crime (and the threat it poses to road safety) is frankly shocking.
‘I want to reassure the 6.9 million license holders in New South Wales that the system will continue to be fair and easy to use.
“But we will no longer be taken advantage of by a small fraction of those who break the entry and exit rules.”