A judge has been left bewildered by a habitual speedster who took police on a chase at speeds reaching nearly 160kmh.
Judge Dominic Flatley asked Caleb Gregory Adams whether he had seen the myriad advertisements about road safety.
The 20-year-old boat-building apprentice said he had.
''Do they not register?'' the judge asked.
''The majority of the time,'' Adams said.
The defendant pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while suspended and failing to stop for police, when he appeared at the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
Judge Flatley noted he had ''umpteen'' infringements for exceeding the speed limit since 2014 and he had one question for Adams.
''Why?''
Although the man had no answer, his counsel Jo Turner stepped in.
''I think that what occurred is that once he decided not to stop for police, things have escalated,'' she said.
On the evening of August 15, Adams decided to drive his unwarranted, unregistered Nissan Primera from his home in Milton to Dunedin to buy food.
It was less than six weeks since he had been suspended for accumulating excess demerit points, the court heard.
At 7.55pm, Adams passed a police car near Saddle Hill and was clocked at 125kmh. When police activated their lights and siren, he put his foot down.
''The defendant quickly increased his speed to 158kmh in an effort to evade the patrol vehicle,'' a police summary said.
''He began weaving in and out of the startled motorists.''
As he approached the Green Island off ramp, Adams put his hood over his head to avoid being identified by the officers.
Nearing Dunedin, the driver was briefly slowed by traffic build-up and police were able to get in front of him. Adams responded by passing them and weaving through cars ahead.
He eventually turned into Mornington Rd, mounted a footpath and veered down Riselaw Rd.
Police abandoned the pursuit when Adams overtook someone on the wrong side of the road and became airborne over a speed bump.
He parked down a side street and arranged for his father to pick him up from a semi-rural area nearby. Police stopped them shortly after and arrested Adams.
''You are lucky you're not going to prison, Mr Adams. You need to think long and hard about this,'' the judge said.
''It's a matter for you if you care about your own life, but what about the lives of others?
''I just don't understand it, why the message does not get through. What has to be done?''
Adams was sentenced to 250 hours' community work and disqualified from driving for 15 months (to start when his current ban ends, at the end of September).
