KEY POINTS:
Police were thrown all the usual lines during a South Auckland traffic blitz yesterday but age-old excuses like "it's not my car" weren't enough to prevent every second motorist from being fined or having to walk home.
Around half of the 1100 motorists stopped at "Operation Sweep" checkpoints in Mangere yesterday morning were found to be driving without licences, in breach of their licence conditions, owing court fines or in unroadworthy cars.
Some of the vehicles had expired registrations or warrants and others were badly damaged, had bald tyres or breached Land Transport or taxi licensing rules.
The drivers, who ranged in age, came up with various excuses, none of which were accepted by the police.
Other drivers just simply "didn't care" about the fines, said Constable Martin Carroll.
"They were just rolling their cigarette or eating their food or texting someone. You give them a ticket and they were, 'Thanks for that', and were off again."
The operation - which ran from 7am until noon - involved about 30 people from the police, Land Transport, ACC, court bailiffs, taxi licensing staff and the Commercial Vehicle Investigations Unit.
Mr Carroll said police exercised a zero tolerance policy.
When one teenager was asked why she was driving without a licence, she told Mr Carroll, "Oh, I'm just going down the road".
"They just don't get it, they really don't, which is just frustrating because it's just the tip of the iceberg."
The 18-year-old then tried to further justify her actions by saying she was "going to get her learner's licence today", but it was a line police have heard all too often and the teen was disqualified from driving.
One woman didn't even bother trying to give an excuse when she was caught twice. Mr Carroll said she was given tickets for being a learner driver on her own, not producing a licence and not displaying L Plates - but didn't care.
"She came back through the checkpoints about two hours later in a different car and got stopped again. I gave her exactly the same [tickets] again. She got $3000 worth of fines and will now under the points system be a disqualified driver."
With 38 cars being seized or impounded many motorists, including Papatoetoe woman Malumalu Tiofala, were left having to find their own way home after the operation.
Ms Tiofala, 31, was using her sister's unwarranted, unregistered van to drop her son at school - and didn't have her licence. Court bailiffs then realised there was an outstanding speed camera ticket. Ms Tiofala had no way to pay, so the van was seized.
Her family now have seven working days to pay the outstanding $250 fine, plus the costs of seizing, towing and storing the van, or it will be sold.
Ms Tiofala said she didn't feel bad about driving the van in its condition - which included having to use pliers to start the broken ignition - but had learned a lesson about not carrying her driver's licence with her.
"All I feel sorry for is myself this morning because I haven't got my licence because I'm in a rush this morning to drop my boy at school."
