A
drivers licence can be suspended in
many different ways. If a court
finds you guilty of any traffic
offence (other than drink driving
and dangerous driving) it has power
to suspend your drivers licence. The
usual ways in which a licence is
suspended are as follows:
- excessive
demerit points
- excessive
speed
- immediate
suspension following a drink
driving offence
- failure
to pay fines
Your
licence could be suspended by a
court, by a traffc infringement
notice, by VicRoads or by the
Sheriff.
It
is an offence to drive a motor
vehicle on a road or a public place if your
licence has been
suspended.
When police
intercept a driver for any driving offence a licence check will
determine whether the driver has a current and valid licence. Many
police have on-board computers that enable them to look up a database
of licence holders and registration details. As the police drive along
a road, they will input registration plate numbers into the computer
and if the registered owner is a suspended or disqualified driver, they
will intercept the vehicle to make further inquiries. The police also
set up APNR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) digital camera systems
scanning number plates of vehicles that pass by. So if you are
thinking of driving whilst suspended or whilst disqualified, your
chances of getting caught these days have increased significantly.
Sometimes
suspended drivers have been known to
state a false name and address after
being intercepted. This is also an
offence and tends to make things
worse.
Effect of licence
suspension
A
person whose licence has been suspended is unable to use the licence
for any purpose until the period of suspension has expired. Once the
suspension ends, the person can resume driving provided their licence
is current. There is no need to take any step in order to be able to
resume driving. If your licence is suspended you commit an offence if
you drive any motor vehicle on a road in Victoria. This includes most
motorised scooters. You will be ineligible to drive in any other state
on your Victorian licence. You are also disqualified from obtaining a
new licence during the period of suspension. For interstate licence
holders, a Victorian court or a Victorian law is not able to suspend a
licence issued in another state, but Victorian law can disqualify you
from obtaining a Victorian licence which effectively stops you from
driving in Victoria during the period of disqualification.
Penalties for driving whilst
suspended
s.30
Road Safety Act 1986
First
offence: Up to $3300 fine, or up to
4 months imprisonment.
Second
or subsequent offence: Imprisonment
for a period of at least one month
and not more than 2
years.
Typical
outcomes for a first offence is a
conviction and fine of about $1000 and 1 to 6
months additional licence suspension
- I have seen people get 12 months
extra when poorly represented.
A typical sentence for a second
offence is a conviction and one month imprisonment
wholly suspended for a period of 12
months, with some further licence
suspension. If you commit
certain further offences during that
12 month period you will end up in
jail.
I am often
asked to ensure that any additional licence loss period is kept to a
minimum if not avoid it completely, as well as avoid convictions, large
fines, community work or imprisonment.
Defences
to driving whilst
suspended
All
of the legal process defences which
are available in all traffic
offences are available in drive
whilst suspended cases. Other ways
of defending these charges involve
challenging the legitimacy of the
suspension, or having the suspension
reversed, having the court accept
you were not driving a motor
vehicle, or the prosecution may be
unable to prove that you knew that
your drivers licence was suspended
at the time of driving. As this
offence is punishable by
imprisonment, it is common for
people to try to avoid prison by
pleading guilty rather than risk
damaging their chances by pleading
not guilty.
Legal Representation
A
person facing charges of driving
whilst disqualified will eventually
be charged on summons and will have
to go to court at which point legal
representation is recommended. The
total cost of legal representation
for a plea of guilty to driving
while suspended is usually within
the range $1300 to $1700, and
slightly higher if it is not your
first offence. If it is your first
offence, the chance of going to
prison is quite low. If it is not
your first offence the chance of
spending time in prison is low if
the case is handled properly.
Do not believe those lawyers who try
to justify ridiculously high fees on
the basis that they are going to
save you from prison. None of my
clients have ever gone to prison
simply for driving while suspended.
However, some have gone to
prison because the offence of
driving while suspended breached an
earlier suspended term of
imprisonment, or they were also
drunk at the time and had an
accident.
Any
person who loses their licence for a
drink driving offence or a dangerous
driving offence will find that their
licence is cancelled (not suspended)
and they are disqualified from
obtaining a licence for a fixed
period of time. You can become a
disqualified person by order of a
court or by a traffic infringement
notice. A person who drives a motor
vehicle on a road during a period
when they are disqualified from
obtaining a licence, they commit an
offence.
Effect
of disqualification
A
person who is disqualified from
obtaining a licence is unable to
drive during the period of
disqualification. Once the
disqualification period ends, the
person will not be able to drive
until they apply for a new licence.
Holders of interstate drivers
licences and overseas licences can
also be disqualified from driving in
Victoria if they are found guilty of
drink driving or dangerous
driving.
Penalties
for driving whilst
disqualified
s.30
Road Safety Act 1986
First
offence: Up to $3300 fine, or up to
4 months imprisonment.
Second
or subsequent offence: Imprisonment
for a period of at least one month
and not more than 2
years.
Typical
outcomes for a first offence is a conviction and
fine of about $1000 and an
additional 1 to 6 months
disqualification.
A typical penalty
for a second offence is a conviction and one months
imprisonment wholly suspended for a
period of 12 months, with extra
licence loss.
In many
cases, if the matter is handled properly, it is possible to avoid
extending the licence disqualification period, avoid serving time in
prison or having to perform community work, avoid large fines or having
a conviction recorded.
Defences
to driving whilst
disqualfiied
All
of the legal process defences which
are available in all traffic
offences are available in drive
whilst disqualified cases. Other
ways of defending these charges
involve challenging the legitimacy
of the disqualification (which is
usually difficult as it is nearly
always founded on a court order), or
having the disqualification
reversed, having the court accept
you were not driving a motor
vehicle, or showing that you had no
knowledge that you were disqualified
at the time of driving. As this
offence is punishable by
imprisonment, it is common for
people to try to avoid prison by
pleading guilty rather than risk
damaging their chances by pleading
not guilty. When charged with
driving whilst disqualified the
court has options to fine the
defendant (if it is a first
offence), order the defendant to
perform community work, order
imprisonment, and it also has the
power to further suspend the
defendant's drivers licence for as
long as the court thinks fit.
Subsequent offenders must receive a
prison sentence which may be
custodial or
non-custodial.
Legal
Representation
A person
facing charges of driving whilst disqualified will eventually be
charged on summons and will have to go to court at which point legal
representation is recommended. The total cost of legal representation
for a plea of guilty to driving while disqualified is usually within
the range $1300 to $1700, and slightly higher if it is not your first
offence. If it is your first offence, the chance of going to prison is
quite low. If it is not your first offence the chance of spending time
in prison is low if the case is handled properly, however a suspended
jail term or an intensive corrections order is the usual
alternative. Do not believe those lawyers who try to justify
ridiculously high fees on the basis that they are going to save you
from prison. None of my clients have ever gone to prison simply for
driving while disqualified. However, some have gone to prison because
their driving while disqualified breached an earlier suspended term of
imprisonment, or they committed other serious driving offences at the
same time as driving whilst disqualified.
