A woman risked losing her licence for two years for not telling police who was behind the wheel of her car when it was seen speeding through Bendigo.
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Instead, the woman received a $1500 fine without conviction after pleading guilty in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court to failing to give information about the driver of her vehicle after being served with a notice to do so.
About 2.10am on April 4, police officers saw a car with a damaged rear wheel travelling on Napier Street in White Hills.
They activated the lights of their vehicle, but the car failed to stop and took off at a fast speed towards Bendigo.
A short time later another officer later witnessed the car travelling quickly through Bendigo.
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The car was later found abandoned in Wattle Street - with the rear wheel tyre worn to the rim - and the owner's licence was discovered inside it.
The owner was served with a notice to provide police with information about who was driving the car at the time.
She told police a friend of a friend had used the vehicle, but she did not know who they were.
The court heard the police informant called her about 10 days after the notice was served, but she did not tell them what enquiries she had made to determine the identity of the driver.
Defence lawyer James Dalrymple said the woman did not contact police because she had nothing to provide, but accepted she should have done so.
Without her licence, he said, she would lose her job.
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But police prosecutor Richard Epskamp said a clear message needed to be sent to the woman that she could not do this when a serious offence had taken place.
If convicted, the woman would have lost her licence for two years.
But magistrate Michael King decided to fine her without conviction, noting her job and her responsibilities caring for her child.
He also took into account the fact she had no prior offences of this nature or seriousness, and had little in way of traffic offences.
But he said vehicle owners had a duty to tell police who drove their car when requested, otherwise it allowed offenders to escape.
Dr King said the person who was driving the vehicle that night should be off the road.
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