By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A driver facing his “extraordinary” 34th charge of driving suspended or disqualified has been jailed.
Joshua Dean Rixon, of Doveton, was caught driving in Warragul, Hallam and Doveton this year while serving a three-year driving disqualification, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard on 30 October.
His lawyer Arend Slink said a lot of the 31 previous driving suspended or disqualified charges related to a loss of demerit points.
Rixon had driven without a valid license partly out of a need to “ferry the kids around” while – up until recently – living in an isolated country area, Mr Slink said.
Rixon was also charged over failing to return a $5200 hired trailer in Trafalgar last year.
Mr Slink told the court Rixon couldn’t return the trailer because of the damaged state of his vehicle.
The trailer has not been since recovered. Rixon has “no idea” what happened to it and had no role in its “removal and disposal”, Mr Slink said.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said Rixon – who had recently been jailed for the same offending – was “not helping himself” with his errant decisions.
He said disqualified drivers such as Rixon were risk-takers, more likely to be involved in serious injuries and deaths on the road.
Rixon needed assistance for his “complex” issues but he also needed to be stopped from repetitive offending, Mr Vandersteen said.
“I don’t know why he’d be continually doing this.
“I get that you’re not good at dealing with some issues … but how do you explain that to a victim that’s been hurt.
“Thirty-four times you’ve done (this) is just an extraordinary amount.”
Rixon was jailed for 90 days followed by a 12-month supervised community corrections order including drug and mental health treatment.
Taking into account some recent “good signs”, Mr Vandersteen did not add to the existing driving ban of up to July 2019.
“You need light at the end of the tunnel.”
