Courier loses licence in first day farce

A Palmerston North courier driver has lost her licence after driving on a learners licence without L plates and crashing into a colleague's vehicle as they fought over who would get to a job first.

It was Melissa Rose Te Amo's first day on the job at City Sprint Couriers when she crashed into the back of her colleague's car as he tried to beat her to a job so he could get paid for it.

She was following him so closely that when he braked suddenly she ploughed into the back of his car, breaking the arm of another colleague who was in the passenger seat beside her.

Te Amo, 29, pleaded guilty in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday to a charge of careless use of a motor vehicle causing injury.

About 2pm on November 10, last year, she was driving along Russell St to do a pick up from a business on Tremaine Ave.

She told Judge Gerard Lynch there had been some in-fighting at work and another colleague was ahead of her in his vehicle trying to beat her to the job. The workers get paid depending on the number of jobs they do.

A fully-licensed colleague from her work was in the passenger seat next to her to show her the ropes.

"I forgot to put the L-plates on," Te Amo said.

When the front car suddenly braked, Te Amo was unable to stop her car in time, hitting into the back with the impact throwing her passenger forward, breaking her right upper arm.

Te Amo was to sit her restricted licence test that afternoon.

"Your driving fell way below the standard the community expects of its drivers," Judge Lynch said.

"A contest for a job should never result in driving standards dropping to what they did on this occasion."

He sentenced her to 80 hours' community work, ordered her to pay emotional reparation of $750 to the injured passenger, and took away her licence for seven months.

Outside court, City Sprint Couriers manager and Te Amo's mother Carolyn Te Amo said she knew Te Amo was on a learner's licence when she hired her, but decided to give her a chance as she was already booked in to sit her restricted licence test. "She was not meant to be driving that day but when she went out on that job the woman who was training her said she had a terrible head ache so Melissa offered to drive."

When the company advertises for drivers it asks for people to be fully licensed, she said.

"Most of our drivers are fully licensed but since we only operate during the day, and only small distances around town, it is OK to have people on their restricted."

It was the first time the company had ever had employees competing for jobs, she said. Te Amo is still employed at the company but the other driver has left.

- © Fairfax NZ News