Michael Denis Wiggins had already been disqualified until 2040 for previous offences when police caught him driving on the Mitchell Highway at Wellington on the morning of January 9.

He was stopped because his car’s registration had expired.

Wiggins, a declared habitual traffic offender, was disqualified for a further five years by Magistrate Terry Lucas and sentenced to an 18 month suspended term of imprisonment.

Wiggins told the court it was the first time he had driven in three years.

Solicitor Peter Ringbauer said his client and his partner had seven children and had recently relocated from Orange to Coonamble.

“He made the incorrect and illegal decision to drive a motor vehicle. He has disposed of his car. He knows he’s not allowed to drive. He’s able to do occasional work but he realises he cannot drive for any reason,” he said.

Magistrate Terry Lucas said Wiggins would not be able to avoid jail if he was caught again.

“If you get caught driving again, you’ll go to jail. Don’t let me or the community down,” he said.

Local barrister Bill Walsh told the Central Western Daily the courts had no choice when it came to people who routinely disobeyed orders not to drive, with mandatory disqualification periods applying.

“My experience as both a police officer and a lawyer is that a lot of people can’t keep their hands off the steering wheel. If people continue to drive while disqualified, it’s in contempt of a court order,” he said.

A mandatory disqualification period of 12 months applies to anyone convicted of driving while their licence has been disqualified if it is a first offence.

Mr Walsh said his greatest concern about the mandatory disqualification periods was that the penalty was much greater for people in rural and regional areas.

“That is perhaps where there is an unfairness. It affects their livelihood. In Sydney you can just get on a bus or train and go to work. It’s not in the interests of society that people lose their jobs,” he said.