You’re welcome to create your own vehicular contraptions at home. But at the end of the day, that’s where they should stay: at home. South Australia Police stopped a driver who was behind the wheel of a homemade vehicle made from the motor of a mobility scooter and the body of a child’s ride-on car. The driver returned a positive result on a roadside drug test, 1News reported. But perhaps that was the least of his worries, given what he was on the road in.
The vehicle, as it’s now loosely being called, had a pink decal and black stickers across the body, which had started life as a toy. The motor came out of a mobility scooter, a machine Australians usually call a “gopher.” And to top it all off, it looked absolutely ridiculous, so it wasn’t hard to spot on the streets.
The driver had already lost his license before being stopped while driving his jalopy. Police said he was disqualified from driving long before. He has not been publicly identified, but given the decisions that were made here, that might be for the best.
The traffic stop that busted this creative driver came during a three-day road operation. Officers from the South Australia Police Road Policing Section were present between July 13 and 16, using two of the force’s new low-visibility patrol cars, according to South Australia Police. The operation was aimed at keeping dangerous driving down in the area.
What Else the Operation Revealed on the Road
The homemade car was the strangest find and not actually the most serious one. Over the three days, police said they detected 25 drug drivers, issued 52 traffic fines, and declared 27 vehicles unroadworthy. Officers also imposed 24 immediate license suspensions and impounded two vehicles.
One other stop stood out. Police clocked a learner driver traveling at 127 kilometers per hour, roughly 79 mph, and he also tested positive for cannabis. He was given a speeding fine and received an immediate three-month license suspension. In South Australia, learner drivers face tighter speed restrictions and a zero-tolerance standard for drugs and alcohol than fully licensed motorists.
But the most important thing you’ll want to take away from this incident is that even if you think the car you built looks cool, you don’t get to take it on the road. It also doesn’t skirt road restrictions if you have no license. So if you have an inkling to do something similar, maybe just don’t.