A driver who crashed while performing a “burnout” will not receive a claim payment because he recklessly damaged his car.  

CCTV footage from the August 2024 smash showed the motorist accelerating while turning left at a T-intersection, then hitting a power pole.  

Smoke was seen coming from the car’s tyres, which left skid marks on the road.  

The driver admitted accelerating heavily but said this was “a momentary lapse in judgment rather than a conscious decision to engage in reckless driving”.  

He suggested sudden acceleration was needed to merge into traffic, but the footage showed no other cars at the intersection for at least 17 seconds after he entered. 

Insurer Suncorp’s forensic investigator said vehicle data showed the man “applied 99% throttle from five seconds to 2.5 seconds before the collision, then 0% throttle from two seconds to 0.5 seconds before the collision”. 

They concluded the driver’s actions appeared intentional. 

Police said the driver had been “heavily doing burnouts and crossed onto the wrong side of road” before trying to correct his steering. 

The driver was issued an infringement notice for reckless driving and fined. He said he did not dispute the notice because he did not have time. 

In a dispute ruling on the man’s rejected claim, an Australian Financial Complaints Authority ombudsman says the driver undertook “far more acceleration than was necessary in the circumstances ... [that] caused the tyres to smoke, screech, leave skid marks and lose traction with the road.  

“The complainant knew his act made it harder to control the car and increased the risk of crashing. He told the investigator that applying full acceleration in these circumstances ‘wouldn’t be stable’. 

“He knew his act increased the risk of crashing the car, and he decided to accept the risk. In my view, it is fair to describe this as reckless.”  

See the ruling here.