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Drink
Driving Penalties in
Victoria
Victoria
has mandatory
sentencing
when it comes to most drink drive,
speeding and drive whilst suspended
offences. When you combine a strict
liability offence with mandatory
sentencing, life can get pretty
grim.
The
table below sets out the minimum
periods of licence cancellation for all
drivers found guilty of a drink driving
offence in Victoria. If you plead
guilty you will be found guilty. There
are no alternatives except for those
who plead not guilty.
The penalties for subsequent offences apply to people who have been
found guilty of (or paid a fine for) a drink driving offence
during the period of 10 years prior to the date of the current offence.
NOTE:
The Penalties for drink driving
has increased significantly for offences committed after October
2006.
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Mandatory
MINIMUM Licence Loss Periods
for Drink
Driving
|
|
Your
BAC
Reading
|
First
Offence
Penalty
|
Subsequent
offence
Penalty
|
|
Zero
limit drivers under
0.05%
|
Discretionery
licence loss of up to 6
months.
|
If not
convicted: no mandatory
licence loss period.
If convicted: 12
months.
|
|
All
drivers aged 26 years or more, and under 0.07%
|
If not
convicted: no mandatory
licence loss period.
If convicted: 6
months.
|
12
months
|
| Drivers aged less than 26 years, and under 0.07% |
6 months |
12 months |
|
0.07 or
more but less than
0.08
|
6
months
|
14
months
|
|
0.08 or
more but less than
0.09
|
6
months
|
16
months
|
|
0.09 or
more but less than
0.10
|
6
months
|
18
months
|
|
0.10 or
more but less than
0.11
|
10
months
|
20
months
|
|
0.11 or
more but less than
0.12
|
11
months
|
22
months
|
|
0.12 or
more but less than
0.13
|
12
months
|
24
months
|
|
0.13 or
more but less than
0.14
|
13
months
|
26
months
|
|
0.14 or
more but less than
0.15
|
14
months
|
28
months
|
|
0.15 or
more but less than
0.16
|
15
months
|
30
months
|
|
0.16 or
more but less than
0.17
|
16
months
|
32
months
|
|
0.17 or
more but less than
0.18
|
17
months
|
34
months
|
|
0.18 or
more but less than
0.19
|
18
months
|
36
months
|
|
0.19 or
more but less than
0.20
|
19
months
|
38
months
|
|
0.20 or
more but less than
0.21
|
20
months
|
40
months
|
|
0.21 or
more but less than
0.22
|
21
months
|
42
months
|
|
0.22 or
more but less than
0.23
|
22
months
|
44
months
|
|
0.23 or
more but less than
0.24
|
23
months
|
46
months
|
|
0.24 or
more
|
24
months
|
48
months
|
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MAXIMUM
Penalties for Drink Driving
offences committed after
10.10.2006
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|
First
Offence
|
Max
Fine
|
Max
Prison
|
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All
first offenders
|
$1,200
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nil
|
|
Second
Offence
|
|
|
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Under 0.15%
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$6,000
|
6 months
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On or over 0.15%
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$12,000
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12 months
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Refusing a requirement
|
$12,000
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12 months
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Third
Offence
|
|
|
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Under 0.15%
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$12,000
|
12 months
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On or over 0.15%
|
$18,000
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18 months
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Refusing a requirement
|
$18,000
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18 months
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Driving
Under the Influence (s.49(1)(a)) is
$2,500.00 or 3 months gaol for a first
offence, 12 months gaol or $12,000 for
a second offence, and $18,000 or 18
months for a third or more offence. All
licences will be cancelled and you can
be disqualified from driving for at
least 2 years.
|
MAXIMUM
Penalties for Drink Driving
offences committed prior to
10.10.2006
|
|
Your
BAC limit
|
Your
BAC
Reading
|
First
Offence?
|
Max
Licence Loss
Period
|
Max
Fine
|
Max
Prison
|
|
Zero
limit
|
0.00% to
0.049%
|
Yes
|
6
months
|
$1,200.00
|
nil
|
|
Zero
limit
|
0.00% to
0.049%
|
No
|
Indefinite
|
$2,500.00
|
3
months
|
|
Any
limit
|
0.05% or
more
|
Yes
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Indefinite
|
$1,200.00
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Nil
|
|
Any
limit
|
0.05% or
more
|
No
|
Indefinite
|
$2,500.00
|
3
months
|
The
maximum penalty for Driving Under
the Influence (s.49(1)(a)) is
$2,500.00 or 3 months gaol for a first
offence and 12 months gaol for a
subsequent offence. All licences will
be cancelled and you can be
disqualified from driving for at least
2 years.
Note:
only in the most extreme cases will
a court impose the maximum
penalties.
If
you have refused a breath test or
blood test, pretend your reading is
0.24% and apply the above
tables.
*BAC = Blood Alcohol Content
Interlock
Conditions
Many drivers found guilty of drink
driving in the past few years will not
be relicensed unless their new licence
has an interlock condition imposed.
This means the driver can not drive any
vehicle unless it is fitted with an
interlock device. This condition is
imposed by a Magistrate when the driver
applies to the court for permission to
be relicensed.
Anyone who loses their licence is
liable to be required to have an
interlock when they are relicensed. The
interlock condition lasts for 6 months
for first offenders, up to 4 years for
multiple offenders.
The driver must pay all the costs
associated with the installation and
maintainance of the interlock device.
The interlock condition can be removed
only by order of a Magistrate. If you
have a prior drink driving offence in
the past ten years, the only way to
avoid a mandatory interlock condition
is to successfully defend the charges.
Click
here to read more about Interlock
conditions.
Pleading
Guilty at Court.
Many people
assume that if they admit the offence
by pleading guilty and show remorse and
hardship, a Magistrate can let them
keep their driver's licence. This is
not the case for most drink drivers. A
plea of guilty will result in a finding
of guilt, so check the mandatory
minimum periods in the top table once
more to find out if you still want to
plead guilty.
It
is NOT possible
for drivers to avoid licence loss by
pleading guilty if:
- The
reading is 0.07% or more,
or
- The
reading is 0.05% or more and it is
their second drink driving offence
in the past 10 years.
It
IS possible
for drivers to avoid licence loss
(on a plea of guilty or not guilty)
if:
- The
driver's reading is under 0.05%,
or
- The
driver's reading is under 0.07% and they are aged 26 or over, and
it is their first drink driving
offence in the past 10
years, and the court does not record a conviction.
If you don't lose your licence, then you must
lose 10 demerit points instead. This means you
may lose your licence for
demerit
points
accrual.
Because the
mandatory sentences for drink driving are already quite severe, there
are very few advantages to pleading guilty to drink driving. If your
priority is to avoid a conviction being recorded against you then you
might be better off pleading guilty rather than trying to fight and
win. Some people feel that avoiding a conviction is more important than
trying to get an acquittal. And if you are at risk of prison or have
been involved a serious accident, then pleading guilty can help keep
the penalty to a minimum. Pleading guilty can also save you time, money
and stress. It is very unlikley to save your licence, or save you from
demerit points, or from fines or interlocks or zero conditions.
Drive
to work Licences
You
can not get a "drive
for work"
licence
or restricted licence in Victoria. These options have never
existed here. They exist in Queensland and Western Australia. Your friends who suggested
this option have been watching too much TV. Victorians who claim they have
had a drive for work licence are lying. They were actually driving
whilst suspended but didn't want to admit it. There is no such thing as
a "day time" licence. You either have a licence all the time or you
have no licence any time. No discretions or exceptions. Other states
may have other options. If mandatory sentencing won't let you keep your
licence by pleading guilty, it is always possible to keep your licence
by pleading not guilty. If you commit an offence that does not carry
mandatory licence loss (e.g. careless driving) then the court can
suspend your car licence and let you keep your truck licence. There is
little point asking for this though. You are better off asking for no
licence suspension at all.
Pleading
Not Guilty to save your
licence:
Every defendant
is entitled to plead not guilty. This
does not mean the defendant must prove
they are innocent. The court already
presumes that to be the case so a
defendant has absolutely nothing they
need to prove. What it means is the
police need to prove all facts and
other matters necessary to support a
finding of guilt. In most drink driving
cases, the police case needs to be put
to the test if you wish to avoid
licence loss. All the defendant needs
to do is turn up to put the police case to the test. In mandatory licence
loss cases, if you do not want to test
the prosecution case and you have no
defence of your own, there is almost no
chance of avoiding licence loss. So if
you want to avoid mandatory licence
loss you must go to court and in usual
circumstances you must plead not
guilty.
Related
Pages:
Relicensing
applications
Interlock
conditions
Immediate
Licence
Suspensions
Breath
Tests
Fines
Court
Process
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