Driver's ban gets extension

Katie Christine O'Hara was convicted of driving while disqualified after pleading guilty to the charge when she appeared before Judge Stephen Harrop in Masterton District Court.

Three weeks after being disqualified from driving, a Masterton sales representative was caught driving a company car.

Katie Christine O'Hara was convicted of driving while disqualified after pleading guilty to the charge when she appeared before Judge Stephen Harrop in Masterton District Court recently.

The judge extended her disqualification period and ordered a letter sent to her employer stating if she were caught driving again in a company vehicle it would be confiscated. Police Prosecutor sergeant Jodi Lawrence told the court the 27-year-old was stopped by police about 3pm on September 27 driving on South Belt when she told them she had had an argument with her partner and was heading home.

O'Hara, who had been convicted of drink driving, had been disqualified from driving for six months on September 2, 2013, the court heard.

Defence lawyer Ian Hard said she hadn't planned to drive but she felt she had to get away from the situation she was in.

"She'd had an argument with her boyfriend," Mr Hard said.

"She felt unsafe and she made the unfortunate decision to drive."

Judge Harrop told O'Hara she had been disqualified from driving to keep the community safe and even though she hadn't put the "public at risk" this time, laws had to be complied with.

The judge fined O'Hara $250 plus $130 court costs and disqualified her from driving for a further six months, to start when her current period of disqualification expires on March 2, 2014.

He also ordered a letter sent to her employer about the risk of being caught driving in the next 11 months.

"The car will be liable for confiscation," he said.