TWO Orange fathers with suspended licences only have to wait a week before they can drive again after they convinced Orange Local Court they needed their licences to fulfil their family obligations with their children.
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Both men were subject to suspensions for traffic offences that had the potential to take them off the road for months.
Ryan Roach told magistrate Terry Lucas he could potentially lose his job in Manildra if he didn’t have a licence and he had no way to get to work as there was no public transport from Orange.
Roach, who was caught without P-plates and for speeding, also told the court his partner didn’t have a licence so the responsibility for driving as part of his parental obligations lay on his shoulders.
Father of six Tong Mei Weiu Kon, who works as a carer, also asked the court for leniency to lift his suspension imposed by loss of points.
Mr Kon told the court he too was the only person in the family who could drive, with his children aged between two and 15 years attending four different schools in Orange.
“I also have to drive my eldest daughter to Westmead Hospital for treatment,” he said.
Mr Lucas told both men while he didn’t have the power to quash their suspensions he could reduce them from three months to one week.
“Don’t drive in the next week before you get your licence back,” he warned both men.
