It was a new car with a sticky gearbox Chase Anthony Miller was driving when he lost traction, spinning 180 degrees as he tried to negotiate a traffic island.
The 20-year-old farmhand appeared before Justices of the Peace Peter Debney and Don Adams in Masterton District Court on Monday pleading guilty to a charge of careless driving.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Nick Newbery told the court that about 8pm on November 4, Miller was driving his Nissan Skyline north on Ngaumutawa Rd and as he entered the roundabout at the corner of Upper Plain Rd he accelerated "aggressively", losing traction, causing the car to spin and come to rest facing the opposite direction. "At the time it was raining."
An off duty police officer witnessed the driving.
When spoken to, Miller said he had bought the car the day before and that the gear box was tight. He said he had gone into the roundabout in fourth gear and was trying to get it into third gear but instead slipped into first gear, causing the wheels to lose traction, Mr Newbery said.
