Backwards outback driver to face court....
A 22-YEAR-OLD motorist will face an outback court on Monday for driving more than 20km along a remote highway - backwards.
Scott William Poulton was clocked in his early-model Ford LTD doing 66km in reverse by a passing police patrol on an isolated stretch of the Great Eastern Highway between Bulla Bulling and Coolgardie, about 510km east of Perth.
Two officers from the Perth-based Traffic Enforcement Group had just left Coolgardie and were heading west at 1.20pm on Thursday when they spotted a vehicle coming towards them.
They aimed their radar gun at the approaching car and clocked it at 66km/h. Coolgardie police said yesterday their colleagues were gobsmacked when the two cars passed.
It was at first believed that Mr Poulton, and a male friend of similar age who was a passenger in the car, were attempting to drive backwards from the outskirts of Perth all the way to Kalgoorlie, a distance of more than 540km.
But Acting Sergeant Cameron Hart, of Coolgardie police, alleged Mr Poulton told arresting officers that the car's transmission had "stuffed up" and the only gear that could be properly engaged was reverse. They had decided to drive backwards to the closest town, Coolgardie.
The two men are said to have told police that they had reached speeds of up to 80km/h but slowed down when the car started to sway across the road. Police believe they had driven backwards for at least 20km before being stopped.
It is believed the men were heading to Kalgoorlie to look for work when they experienced transmission problems. Mr Poulton, from Orelia in Perth's southern suburbs, will appear in Coolgardie Magistrates' Court on Monday charged with reckless driving and driving while under suspension
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117...rom=public_rss
note to self.... dont drive backwards
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Originally Posted by rickgiblin
