09 March 2009
A disaster waiting to happen is how Waikato Police describe their discovery of a 13-year-old boy behind the wheel of a car speeding at nearly 140km/h.
Pulled over early Friday evening the boy's father was asleep in the front passenger seat when his son's speed of 137km/h was detected by a Highway Patrol officer on SH1B near Taupiri.
Waikato Road Policing Manager, Inspector Leo Tooman, said initially the pair tried to give the officer false details but when they eventually came clean the father said his son had been driving because he was suffering from gout.
"The father may feel he's woken up from a bad dream now that he's facing charges of aiding and abetting an unlicensed driver to drive but imaging the potential nightmare that could have occurred if they'd crashed at that speed.
"Most 13-year-old simply don't have the cognitive skills to take in the big picture, this is totally unacceptable behaviour that put simply was a disaster waiting to happen."
With 46 deaths resulting from 42 crashes on Waikato roads last year Mr Tooman said there was no room for leniency as the District's staff work to reduce road trauma in the region.
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