The 'bread and butter' of a local court: More than 20 names on the traffic list
From hoons to drink drivers to people driving without a licence, one magistrate is trying to make sure the people brought before her know how quickly things can turn deadly on the roads.
An artist's impression of a defendant brought before Magistrate Deborah Vasta. (ABC News: Sharon Gordon)
In a local court south of Brisbane, one magistrate is hoping a harrowing video with actors depicting graphic car accidents — delivered alongside sobering statistics — will make a difference.
Warning: The following story contains staged scenes which may distress.
On a screen in a darkened courtroom, a woman cries "it was an accident".
A child screams as a car slams into him on a suburban street.
By the time the video stops playing, at least one woman is crying in the Cleveland Magistrates Court's public gallery, where the traffic list is in session.
In this court, Magistrate Deborah Vasta takes a somewhat unique approach to sentencing.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you're here on a Monday morning … we call it the traffic call-over … so you're normally here for something to do with cars," she tells the group.
"Usually drink driving, drug driving, maybe dangerous driving, hooning, driving without a licence.
"Part of the sentencing process is that I'm supposed to give each of you a lecture."
But instead, the five-minute, slightly dated, video is played.
Before hitting play, she offers those in the gallery a chance to leave if they're concerned it will be re-traumatising.
When the lights come back on and Magistrate Vasta pulls up the latest road toll statistics in Queensland, for a brief period, the court feels more like a classroom.
By this particular Monday in May, 111 people have died on the state's roads since the beginning of the year.
Twenty-nine people have died on motorbikes, something Magistrate Vasta is at pains to point out.
"One of our defendants … someone who stood exactly there … was killed last week on a motorbike," she says.
"All of these are preventable … speed, distraction, drugs, alcohol, seatbelts, etc.
This week, more than 20 people are called before the traffic court, which sits until the afternoon.
Many are there, along with their legal representatives, simply to seek adjournments. Others will be sentenced.
Stress levels differ, with some appearing remarkably relaxed — even calm.
One of the most serious matters heard by the court is a 22-year-old who has pleaded guilty to several counts of dangerous driving in relation to hooning incidents two years ago.
Footage of the nights in question is played to the court. Each video shows a large group of people gathered at a car park under the cover of darkness to watch a ute do burnouts.
Instead, the man is sentenced to 200 hours of community service and a wholly suspended t
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