Judge scolds Cape Dorset man for reckless driving

Booku Pudlat, 35, received a $100 fine and was ordered to pay $186 in restitution after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention. The charge falls under Nunavut’s Motor Vehicles Act and is not a criminal offence.

Pudlat lost control of his speeding snowmobile on Nov. 22, 2001, in Cape Dorset. His machine struck a parked snowmobile and rebounded into a house. The parked snowmobile sustained $110 in damages. The house required $75 in repairs.

“Driving is a privilege not a right,” said Justice Robert Kilpatrick. “If you operate at excessive and reckless speeds you could lose your right to operate a Skidoo. Every year people in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut die in similar accidents. It’s fortunate pedestrians were not involved this time.”

Crown did not ask for any licence restrictions.

Pudlat was ordered to pay his fine that day.