New P-plater turns snack pack run into bank-breaker

A newly minted Victorian P-plater is now almost $900 poorer after taking his mates for a celebratory halal snack pack (HSP) just hours after receiving his licence.

In a post on Facebook, Eyewatch – Banyule Police Service Area announced Greensborough Highway Patrol had spotted a Mazda 3 driving in Ivanhoe without its headlights on at about 6:30pm on Tuesday, July 2.

After being pulled over, the 18-year-old driver – who had only obtained their P1 provisional licence (red P-plates) earlier that day – allegedly said he was driving himself and three teenage passengers to their local kebab shop for a HSP dinner.

However, Victorian road rules don’t allow P1 licence holders to drive with more than one ‘peer passenger’ aged between 16 and less than 22 years old, unless they fall under a strict set of exempt conditions.

The P-plater subsequently received two infringement notices.

The first was for driving without headlights on, attracting a $296 fine and one demerit point penalty, while he was also fined $593 and given three demerit points for driving with more than one peer passenger.

With four demerit points on his licence, the P-plater is at risk of having his licence suspended for three months if he accrues one more point within the next year.

It’s not known whether the teenagers did in fact end up receiving their HSPs.