NZ Metro TC 14 October 2016 – R 1 – Chair, Mr D Jackson
ID: JCA17132
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 14 October 2016
Meet Chair:
DJackson
Meet Committee Member 1:
RMcKenzie
Race Date:
2016/10/14
Race Number:
R 1
Decision:
Mr White admitted both charges. It was clear to the committee on the video evidence that the charges were made out in any event. The charges were proved.
Penalty:
For the careless driving, Mr White is fined $500. This was the second incident of careless driving within 7 days. It was careless but not reckless. The Committee assesses Mr White’s culpability as medium. He should have taken more care.
For the footrest charge, Mr White will be fined $100 in accordance with the JCA Penalty Guidelines. The focus of this Rule is upon safety. Mr White’s performance during the concluding stages of the race was more than silly. It was stupid and inappropriate. There is no place on a racecourse for goading fellow amateur horsemen when crossing the finishing line. Mr White’s deliberate gesticulations towards those following horsemen necessitated his shifting in his sulky seat and turning his torso as he looked around. Because of his tightfitting safety vest he had to remove his foot from the sulky to turn around. His foot was out of the sulky for 30 metres approximately.
Facts:
In the one information Mr White is charged with careless driving and driving with his foot out of the sulky footrest over the concluding stages.
Mr Renault relied on video evidence of the race at the (approximate) 600 metre mark. The video evidence showed Mr White shift out abruptly on 'Here We Go Again' checking 'Major Patron', which went back onto 'As Kiwi As'. Both horses affected broke and lost all chance.
Further, Mr Renault relied on video evidence of the concluding stages of the race, which 'Here We Go Again' won, showing Mr White turning in his sulky to gesticulate wildly at the horses and drivers following. During this display, and in order to facilitate his turning his torso, Mr White took his right foot out of the footrest.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault submitted that Mr White was an experienced amateur horseman with good record until recently. This was the second incident of careless driving within 7 days, Mr White having been fined $300 at Timaru on 9 October 2016 in similar circumstances. Mr Renault submitted, having regard to the JCA Sentencing Guidelines, the start point was a 3 day suspension, which coupled with the footrest charge, warranted a four day suspension. In the alternative, Mr Renault submitted that given the difficulty in identifying appropriate dates for suspension for an amateur horseman, Mr White could be dealt with by way of fine and suggested a fine of $500 would be appropriate.
Mr White accepted fault but asked the Committee to take into account the fact that the horse had been hanging or pulling shortly before the movement outwards and that the horse overreacted to his steering and took off approaching the corner, which it took well. Mr White said that he was an amateur horseman who had limited opportunities to drive and that he was sorry for the carelessness displayed.
Mr White described his gesticulations at the conclusion of the race as silly and that he lost his footing in the sulky because of the effort required to turn his torso due to the tightfitting nature of his safety vest. He confirmed an ability to pay a substantial fine.
Reasons for Penalty:
The committee considers this is a clear case of careless driving. We assess Mr White’s culpability as medium. An opportunity arose for Mr White to move outwards near the 600 metre mark. Rather than ensure the move was undertaken gradually and in a controlled fashion, the move was abrupt and gave those following no chance of taking a hold or otherwise easing their drives to ensure they were not affected.
Having regard to the Rules and the JCA Sentencing Guidelines, the Committee considers it cannot deal with both charges by way of one penalty. Rather, the two charges will be dealt with separately.
Given the notorious difficulty in assessing suspension periods for amateur drivers, the Committee determines that Mr White be dealt with by way of fine for each of the charges proved.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
Dmitry: This section contains all JCA fields migrated from the raw data.
Data from these fields should be mapped appropriately to display amongst the standard fields above; please make note of any values below that are missing in the above standard fields but should be there.
hearingid: d108bf3b908f6223c5d81bd02286b837
informantnumber: A8366
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving and drivfing with foot out of the sulky rest
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 16/10/2016
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 14 October 2016 - R 1 - Chair, Mr D Jackson
charge:
facts:
In the one information Mr White is charged with careless driving and driving with his foot out of the sulky footrest over the concluding stages.
Mr Renault relied on video evidence of the race at the (approximate) 600 metre mark. The video evidence showed Mr White shift out abruptly on 'Here We Go Again' checking 'Major Patron', which went back onto 'As Kiwi As'. Both horses affected broke and lost all chance.
Further, Mr Renault relied on video evidence of the concluding stages of the race, which 'Here We Go Again' won, showing Mr White turning in his sulky to gesticulate wildly at the horses and drivers following. During this display, and in order to facilitate his turning his torso, Mr White took his right foot out of the footrest.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr White admitted both charges. It was clear to the committee on the video evidence that the charges were made out in any event. The charges were proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault submitted that Mr White was an experienced amateur horseman with good record until recently. This was the second incident of careless driving within 7 days, Mr White having been fined $300 at Timaru on 9 October 2016 in similar circumstances. Mr Renault submitted, having regard to the JCA Sentencing Guidelines, the start point was a 3 day suspension, which coupled with the footrest charge, warranted a four day suspension. In the alternative, Mr Renault submitted that given the difficulty in identifying appropriate dates for suspension for an amateur horseman, Mr White could be dealt with by way of fine and suggested a fine of $500 would be appropriate.
Mr White accepted fault but asked the Committee to take into account the fact that the horse had been hanging or pulling shortly before the movement outwards and that the horse overreacted to his steering and took off approaching the corner, which it took well. Mr White said that he was an amateur horseman who had limited opportunities to drive and that he was sorry for the carelessness displayed.
Mr White described his gesticulations at the conclusion of the race as silly and that he lost his footing in the sulky because of the effort required to turn his torso due to the tightfitting nature of his safety vest. He confirmed an ability to pay a substantial fine.
reasonsforpenalty:
The committee considers this is a clear case of careless driving. We assess Mr White’s culpability as medium. An opportunity arose for Mr White to move outwards near the 600 metre mark. Rather than ensure the move was undertaken gradually and in a controlled fashion, the move was abrupt and gave those following no chance of taking a hold or otherwise easing their drives to ensure they were not affected.
Having regard to the Rules and the JCA Sentencing Guidelines, the Committee considers it cannot deal with both charges by way of one penalty. Rather, the two charges will be dealt with separately.
Given the notorious difficulty in assessing suspension periods for amateur drivers, the Committee determines that Mr White be dealt with by way of fine for each of the charges proved.
penalty:
For the careless driving, Mr White is fined $500. This was the second incident of careless driving within 7 days. It was careless but not reckless. The Committee assesses Mr White’s culpability as medium. He should have taken more care.
For the footrest charge, Mr White will be fined $100 in accordance with the JCA Penalty Guidelines. The focus of this Rule is upon safety. Mr White’s performance during the concluding stages of the race was more than silly. It was stupid and inappropriate. There is no place on a racecourse for goading fellow amateur horsemen when crossing the finishing line. Mr White’s deliberate gesticulations towards those following horsemen necessitated his shifting in his sulky seat and turning his torso as he looked around. Because of his tightfitting safety vest he had to remove his foot from the sulky to turn around. His foot was out of the sulky for 30 metres approximately.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)and 867
Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr A White - Amateur Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 974daff464cac4b3dfe2c8adb0966838
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 282af86a61a2efa6c4a335e08cfc29ce
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 14/10/2016
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 14 October 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: DJackson
meet_pm1: RMcKenzie
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC