A Sarnia teen was slapped with a steep fine and a one-year driving ban for driving impaired on an unregistered, uninsured motorcycle without the proper licence.
But Jon Gies, 19, was also given a lesson.
“Mr. Gies, you’re a young man, but it’s important that you understand how dangerous your actions were, that you’re lucky that you weren’t injured as a result of driving that motorcycle while impaired – and without a license and without being insured at the time,” Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski said.
The court heard a Sarnia police officer saw a motorcycle run a red light at Russell Street North and London Road shortly after midnight on Aug. 5. Following a brief pursuit around some area streets, the bike blew a belt and was disabled.
Gies, who smelled like alcohol and slurred his speech, was arrested. Breath tests showed he had between 128 and 131 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.
The legal limit is 80 milligrams for a fully licensed driver, but Gies only had a novice license – and no motorcycle license – at the time. He also hadn’t registered or insured the recently purchased bike.
Gies was hit with more than a dozen charges, mostly under the Provincial Offenses Act, but all of them were dropped after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of impaired driving under the Criminal Code.
Assistant Crown attorney Josie Baier asked for a $3,000 fine while defense lawyer Terry Brandon suggested something between the Crown’s request and the minimum $1,500. She also pointed out her client didn’t see the officer that night and had no intentions of fleeing, with his lack of driving experience and impairment a possible explanation for the brief chase. Gies declined a chance to address the court.
Leszczynski called the readings elevated and the driving dangerous as she sided with the Crown and imposed a $3,000 fine. The one-year driving ban was mandatory.