A teenage learner driver must wait six months before being allowed back behind the wheel – or throttle – after police caught him speeding on the highway in the Tweed Shire.
Officers from the Tweed Byron Highway Patrol in the Far North Sector have described ‘educating a 17-year-old male novice learner rider who thinks his licence conditions are optional’ on Wednesday afternoon.
They say they were patrolling southbound lanes of the Pacific Motorway near Crabbes Creek around 1:45pm when they saw a white Kawasaki Ninja 300 overtaking other drivers and speeding north at around 130km/h.
An officer on a police motorbike was reportedly able to confirm the rider was speeding at 165km per hour in a 110km per hour speed zone.
The rider’s bike displayed learner plates, meaning the rider was legally only allowed to drive at a maximum speed of 90km per hour.
Police say they activated their lights and sirens before stopping the rider a short distance away.
They say the rider was a 17-year-old male from Lismore.
He’s received a fine of $2794 and six demerit points for speeding at more than 45km per hour over the applicable legal limit.
Police say they also suspended the rider’s licence on the spot for six months and confiscated his registration plates for three months when they realised the bike was registered in his name.
The boy was still reportedly awaiting a tow two hours after his arrest.
Police are urging people to report anyone they see driving or riding dangerously and are imploring bike riders to ‘ride to live!’.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
