A judge has told a 20-year-old Napier motorist, who reached speeds of 180km/h while fleeing police, that the courts were "sick of seeing people like you with all the excuses in the world."
Rick Walter David Jones appeared at the Napier District Court and pleaded guilty to charges of driving at dangerous speed and failing to stop after the high speed chase on June 8. Judge Geoff Rea called his driving "ridiculous".
Court summaries showed he was initially clocked at 162km/h on Tannery Rd in Meeanee about 11.25pm. He later accelerated up to 180km/h after a police patrol car activated its lights and sirens.
He then pulled into his own driveway and was chased into the house by police.
His lawyer Michael McAleer, who told the court his client had no prior convictions, said he disputed travelling that fast, and instead estimated he had reached speeds of only 160km/h. "He's a young man with a fast car and a heavy right foot," Mr McAleer said.