bike, Magistrates' Court heard this week.

And when Police arrived at the scene they discovered he was off the road until the year 2002.

Cabral, 26, of Bostock Hill, Paget, admitted driving while disqualified and driving carelessly on South Road, near the Botanical Gardens, on November 9.

"I had been speaking to someone who was going the opposite way,'' he said.

"I wasn't paying attention.'' Under an amnesty recently passed by Parliament, he was due to go back on the road next year, the court heard.

Duty lawyer Mr. Rod Attride-Stirling asked for leniency on the grounds that Cabral had not known he was covered by the amnesty. If he had known he might have been more rational and not ridden his bike.

Senior magistrate the Wor. Will Francis dismissed the argument. The new offences cost Cabral a 12-month ban and a $550 fine.