Townsville driver fighting $1k fine after being caught 40km/h over limit while chasing stolen car

Furious dad REFUSES to pay $1,245 speeding fine as he gives an unusual excuse for driving 40km/h over the limit – so should he be let off?

  • Fredrick Dart, 58, chased his partners daughter’s stolen vehicle in Townsville
  • He saw the vehicle run a red light on Riverway Drive, before pursuing the theives
  • The car was stolen days before he chased it, at around 3am on April 18 2020 
  • During the chase, a speed camera caught Mr Dart over 40km/h over speed limit
  • He has been fined $1,245 and had his license suspended for six months 

A doting dad man slapped with a hefty speeding fine after being caught clocking 40km/h over the limit plans to fight the penalty, claiming he only sped to pursue his daughter-in-law’s stolen car. 

Fredrick Dart, 58, chased the vehicle at 3am on April 18, 2020, before being snapped by a speed camera in Townsville going more than 40km/h over the speed limit. 

Mr Dart was fined $1,245 and disqualified from driving for six months, but is not going down without a fight.

Fredrick Dart, 58, is fighting a $1,245 speeding fine after chasing his partners daughter’s stolen car on a Townsville road (stock)

Poll

Should Fredrick Dart have been fined while chasing the stolen vehicle?

  • Yes, he was speeding and therefore should be fined 0 votes
  • No, I would have done the same 0 votes

While he admits he broke the law, he still maintains he did the right thing by pursuing the stolen car.

The man saw a vehicle, the same make and model as the one stolen from his partner’s home, run a red light at the intersection of Riverway Drive and the Douglas Arterial Road.

The speed camera flashed as he gave chase, having confirmed the plates of the stolen vehicle were the right ones and while using Bluetooth to phone police.

‘I knew I was obviously going fast but thought “it should be OK because I am on the phone, it is a stolen car and I am telling the cops where it is”,’ Mr Dart told the Townsville Bulletin. 

‘If there is any real justice in the world, I shouldn’t be punished for trying to do what I truly thought was the right thing’.

Mr Dart challenged his fine in court, and Magistrate Ken Taylor upheld the penalty handed down.

The Townsville man believes his actions should be allowed as he was on the phone to police, and chasing a stolen car (stock)

The Townsville man believes his actions should be allowed as he was on the phone to police, and chasing a stolen car (stock)

The Townsville man did admit that people may think he had the wrong intentions.

‘Some people will say I was being a vigilante, that is absolutely not what I was doing. I was not trying to ram them or catch them … if I was a vigilante I would not be on the phone to police,’ Mr Dart said.

He has not given up just yet, filing an appeal with Townsville District Court.

Mr Dart said he wasn’t scared to fight back, and the worst that could happen is that he still pays the fine.