Banned driver blushes as judge asks why he continued to ‘drive like an idiot’

Isaac Ginty and his father, Jerome Ginty, outside the temporary Nelson Courthouse, where Isaac was sentenced on his latest crop of charges for driving while disqualified. Photo / Tracy Neal

• Banned driver Isaac Alexander Ginty, 24, has added a fresh crop of convictions for driving offences to the 11 he had already.
• Judge Peter Hobbs highlighted Ginty’s “appallingly bad” record, sentencing him to community detention and community work.
• Ginty acknowledged his mistakes and aims to improve, with support from his father and employer.

A young driver already banned from driving until 2029 because of his “appallingly bad” history went ahead and drove anyway.

Isaac Alexander Ginty blushed as a judge told him he had “a history of driving like an idiot”, then almost collapsed in the dock after standing for so long during sentencing on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old from the small Canterbury township of Kirwee was sentenced in the Nelson District Court on eight charges of driving while disqualified on a third or subsequent time, two of them representative charges.

His convictions this week added to his tally of 11 previous for driving while disqualified or suspended, plus a “troubling” six more for dangerous driving, and numerous others for drink driving and failing to stop, Judge Peter Hobbs noted.

Isaac Ginty and father Jerome Ginty outside the temporary Nelson Courthouse, where Isaac was sentenced on his latest crop of charges for driving while disqualified. Photo / Tracy Neal

In December 2023, Ginty was disqualified for a year, but was then caught several times two months later riding a motorbike.

In May last year, he was caught on five occasions driving a car, and again in August driving a different vehicle.

Most of the offending occurred after Ginty was caught pulling out of various fuel stations between Christchurch, Nelson and Greymouth.

“You are on a wheel of re-offending for offences of this kind,” Judge Hobbs said.

Ginty now biked the 15 minutes to and from his work as a sandblaster and spray painter.

He was described by Judge Hobbs as “on the edge of being young” and that “the male brain was not properly formed until age 25″.

However, he was not given any discount in sentencing for his youth.

Judge Hobbs lectured Ginty as a school headmaster might about the perils of poor driving.

“Why are you being an idiot?”, he asked and said the courts were tired of people who ignored orders.

“Eventually, we say ‘enough’s enough’, and you will go to jail.”

Ginty said he knew he had “stuffed up” and that he now wanted to get ahead in life.

Judge Hobbs said in taking into account Ginty’s appallingly bad record, a sentencing starting point of 18 months in prison was “easily achievable”, and that the roads were dangerous enough without people on them who didn’t respect the rules.

“You have to stop doing this,” he said, and then asked him how Ginty would feel if he injured or killed someone.

“I couldn’t live with myself,” Ginty replied.

Judge Hobbs relayed the numerous times he had sentenced young men like him who had hurt, paralysed and even killed others through ignoring road rules.

“I have done many sentencings and they are no fun.”

Judge Hobbs said innocent members of the public were also placed at risk by drivers such as Ginty, but acknowledged that there had been no fault with his driving, only that he had continued to drive when he was not allowed.

“You have to change your attitude. Your father, who is in court, has suggested the same.”

Jerome Ginty, clearly emotional at what had transpired in the court, told NZME outside that parenting was a “forever job” and that he hoped his son had now reached a turning point.

“He talks about one day owning a house and contributing to the community in a good way.”

In sentencing Ginty to three months of community detention and 40 hours of community work on each charge, to be served concurrently, Judge Hobbs acknowledged his early guilty plea, the adversity he had faced in his early life that may have contributed to his behaviour, and the seven months he had already spent on electronic bail with a strict curfew, without issue.

The community work sentence was given instead of a further driving disqualification, given that Ginty would be off the road until 2029.

“I’m comfortable knowing you can’t get behind the wheel for some time,” Judge Hobbs said.

He said a further disqualification would have extended the ban out to 2031, which was a “tall order” for someone of Ginty’s age.

“There seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel, and that’s a very good thing. You have also been spoken of highly by your employer, but if you continue on this path, you will end up in prison,” Judge Hobbs said.

“It will be a good thing to see you appropriately licensed and a safe driver.”

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.