A test drive of a $470,000 Ferrari has cost a motoring journalist his licence and his main source of income.
Rod Easdown, a Perth freelance journalist who was contracted to The Australian Financial Review as a motoring writer, was caught driving at 231 km/h north-east of Perth on July 13.
In Northam Magistrates Court yesterday, Easdown was fined $1900 and ordered to pay $114 costs for driving the Ferrari at more than twice the 110km/h limit in the town of Toodyay. The Age
His licence was suspended for six months.
The court was told that Mr Easdown, who turned 58 on Monday, had been ashamed and embarrassed at being labelled the “oldest hoon” in media coverage of his charges.
Easdown told the court that when he was caught speeding, he had just overtaken a car whose driver appeared to have been distracted by his Ferrari.
He said the driver of the car in front had been looking in his rear vision mirror, “going from side to side on the road”.
He decided it was safer to overtake him “and I just overtook him way too fast”.
A local police car driving in the opposite direction recorded his speed, he said. Melbourne Herald Sun
Easdown said he did not realise how fast he was going.
“It has really impacted on my livelihood. I’ve lost the major part of my job and I’ve lost the best job in motoring journalism in Australia, which I’m never going to get back.” AutoCar
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