Traffic Law

I have been charged with DRINK DRIVING?
I have been charged with SPEEDING?
I have been charged with UNLICENCED DRIVING?
I have been charged with DANGEROUS DRIVING including STREET RACING?
What are my options regarding a DISQUALIFIED LICENCE?
Can I get a SPECIAL HARDSHIP LICENCE?
Can I get a WORK LICENCE?
Can I drive in Queensland with my INTERSTATE LICENCE?
Can TAYLAW help you?

I have been charged with DRINK DRIVING?
You will be considered to be a person who is guilty of an offence of drink driving if you are caught driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (“BAC”) that exceeds the allowed level. The allowed level depends on the type of licence held by the driver, whether it is a provisional licence or a licence issued with conditions due to previous offences.

If you are an Open licence holder, generally you are legally allowed to drive your vehicle if your BAC is within the range of 0.0% to 0.05%. A provisional learners licence holder will be required to have 0.0% alcohol in their system.

You can also be charged with drink driving if you were merely in charge of a vehicle while your BAC exceeded the applicable limit. This means that a person can be charged with drink driving even if they were merely asleep in their car on the side of the road while intoxicated. You will also be considered “in charge” of a vehicle if you are “supervising” a person driving a vehicle who holds a learners Permit.

The penalty for drink driving depends on the exact offence and in particularly the BAC reading. The penalty also automatically increases if a person has similar offences within the last 5 years.

The common penalty for a person convicted of drink driving is a period of a suspended licence. The minimum disqualification for a drink driving offence is 1 month. The only reasonable opportunity you have for obtaining this minimum disqualification period is if you were just over the legal limit. However if your BAC exceeds 0.15%, the minimum period automatically increases to 6 months. In addition to the disqualification you will usually also incur a monetary fine in addition to any other penalty that might be imposed. The courts may deed the appropriate fine be $100 for each month you were disqualified. With any matter before the court the penalty will vary depending the circumstances.

If the facts of the case are very serious in nature the penalty can extend to probation, community service or even imprisonment, particularly for repeat serious offenders or where the drink driving offence was committed at the same time as other offences, for example if you were to hit someone or something.

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I have been charged with SPEEDING?
Once you obtain an Open Queensland licence you are given 12 points. As you commit offences on the road and are charged under the Road traffic rules you will lose points.

Speeding is the most common way to lose points. The number of demerit points you will accumulate will depend on how much over the speed limit you were driving. The following list shows how many demerit points will be accumulated, and how much the fine will be, for each speeding offence.

• Less than 13km/hr over the speed limit: 1 demerit point and a $133 fine
• 13 - 20km/hr over the speed limit: 3 demerit points and a $200 fine
• 20 - 30km/hr over the speed limit: 4 demerit points and a $333 fine
• 30 - 40km/hr over the speed limit: 6 demerit points and a $466 fine
• More than 40km/hr over the speed limit: 8 demerit points and a $933 fine

You may lose your licence if you lose all the points on your licence within a specific period. If you hold an eligible Queensland licence and your speeding offence causes you to accumulate too many demerit points, you may be able to elect to go on a good driving behaviour period. This period lasts for 12 months and you will have one point on your licence for that time, therefore if you accumulate any more than two demerit points during this period, your licence will be suspended for twice the suspension period that would have applied if you had not elected for the good driving behaviour period.

If you are caught driving 40km/hr or more over the speed limit, your licence will be automatically suspended. You will not be offered the option of a good driving behaviour period, but you may be able to apply for a special hardship order which will allow you to continue driving for certain purposes.

If you wanted to dispute your fine, you must not pay the fine. As once that fine is paid it automatically records as a speeding conviction. If you want to dispute a speeding fine, you will need to elect within the specified time-frame to have your matter heard in court. You will then need to attend court on the required date where you will inform the Magistrate that you want to plead not guilty to the offence. Your matter will then be listed for a summary trial.

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I have been charged with UNLICENCED DRIVING?
You can be charged with unlicenced driving if you do not hold a valid driving licence while driving. There are a number of reasons why a person might not hold a valid licence, including:

• They were disqualified from holding a licence by a court;
• Their licence was suspended by the State Penalties Enforcement Registry;
• Their licence was suspended due to accumulating too many demerit points;
• They simply forgot to renew their expired licence; or
• They never obtained a licence.

The penalty you may incur could be a fine of between $4,000 and $6,000 or imprisonment for a period of between 1 year and 18 months. Your licence can also be disqualified for a period of at least 1 month up to 5 years for very serious offenders.

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I have been charged with DANGEROUS DRIVING including STREET RACING?
Dangerous driving is an offence which arises when a person is charged with operating, or interfering with the operation of, a vehicle dangerously in any place.

There are a wide range of penalties which depend on the actual offence committed.

If you are convicted of a ´basic´ dangerous driving offence, the maximum penalty is a $20,000 fine or 3 years imprisonment.

However if at the time of the offence you were also intoxicated, taking part in an unlawful race or speed trial or you have previously been convicted of a dangerous driving offence, the penalty increases to a $40,000 fine or 5 years imprisonment. These more serious offences are ´aggravated´ offences.

If you have previously been convicted of an aggravated offence or you have been convicted on two earlier occasions for dangerous driving, then imprisonment of some degree is unavoidable.

If a person is killed or seriously injured due to the dangerous driving, the maximum penalty increases to 10 years or up to 14 years if there are aggravating factors.

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What are my options regarding a DISQUALIFIED LICENCE?
If your Queensland driver's licence has been disqualified for more than two years, and at least two years have passed since you were disqualified, then you should be eligible to apply to have the remainder of the licence disqualification removed.

When considering whether to grant your application, the Court will consider a number of factors such as:

• whether you have been charged with any driving or criminal offences since your licence was disqualified;
• the reason you want your licence disqualification removed; and
• what you have been doing in the years since your licence was disqualified.

On the occasion that your licence was disqualified forever you can still apply to have the disqualification removed. However because your licence was disqualified absolutely, it may be more difficult to convince the Court to grant your application than if your licence was disqualified for only 3 years. It is important to remember knowledge of the court system and the processes would be highly advantageous and therefore engaging a lawyer would be highly advised. If your application to have the disqualification removed is unsuccessful you are entitled to apply again after a further period of 12 months.

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Can I get a SPECIAL HARDSHIP LICENCE?
A Special Hardship Order (under Part 6C of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Driver Licensing) Regulation 1999).

You can apply for a special hardship order if:

• You have accumulated too many demerit points while on a good driving behaviour period; and/or
• You have committed a speeding offence of over 40km/hr.

However your driver's licence must not have been suspended or disqualified within the previous 5 years and you would also need to show that you will suffer some form of hardship if your application is refused.

If the Court grants your application for a special hardship order, it can impose certain restrictions on your licence. These restrictions can include the type of vehicle you are allowed to drive while on a special hardship licence, the hours in which you can drive and the purposes for which you can drive while on the licence.

If you breach any of these restrictions, you can be fined up to $2,000 and your licence can be disqualified for the rest of the special hardship suspension period as well as an additional three months.

If you reach the end of the special hardship order period and you have not breached the conditions of the special hardship order your restricted licence comes to an end. However before you can start driving again, you will need to go to Queensland Transport to apply for the same licence you held before the special hardship order period started.

If your special hardship order application is unsuccessful then you do not get another chance to apply again. It is therefore very important that you do not make any mistakes and that you are fully prepared.

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Can I get a WORK LICENCE?
Work Licence (under section 87 of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995).

If you have been charged with a drink driving offence, then you may be eligible to apply for a Work Licence. You may also be eligible if you have been charged with a minor drug driving offence. There are strict guidelines to apply for this kind of licence therefore we advise that you consult an experienced traffic lawyer. They will advise you if you are able to apply.

There are restrictions to Work Licences, these include that you will only be able to drive for work purposes and between the hours permitted. This means that you can only drive for purposes directly connected to your employment and only within the hours that the Magistrate allowed. This does not always mean that a licence will be granted for the hours of 9am to 5pm. It will depend on your working circumstances.

There are also restrictions which include whether passengers will be allowed and the type of vehicle you can drive while on a work licence.

At the end of your Work Licence period, your restricted licence is no longer valid and you are legally considered to be unlicenced. Before you can begin driving again, you will need to go to Queensland Transport and apply for an ordinary licence. Once you have been given a new licence by Queensland Transport, you can continue driving. It is important to remember that you will more than likely be put on a provisional licence for the 12 months after the Work Licence expires.

If your work licence application is unsuccessful then you do not get another chance to apply again. It is therefore very important that you do not make any mistakes and that you are fully prepared.

Eligibility for a work licence:

• You must have a Queensland licence (open, provisional or learners) at the time of the offence and immediately before the disqualification in respect of which the work licence application is made;
• You have been charged with either;
• Driving under the influence of alcohol (not drugs);
• Failing to provide a specimen of breath or blood; or
• Being in charge of a vehicle while a relevant dangerous drug is in your saliva/blood (this does not include the charge of driving whilst under the influence of drugs); and
• You need your drivers licence to keep your job;
• At the time of the offence, the driver was not driving for work purposes;
• At the time of the offence the driver was not already on a work licence;
• You have not been convicted anywhere of a drink driving offence or related offence in the last five years;
• You have not been disqualified from holding a licence or had their suspended or cancelled in Queensland (not including a suspension by SPER); and
• Your blood alcohol concentration was below 0.15 during the time of the offence.

When preparing an application to the court you must first decide whether to plead guilty or not guilty to the charge. A driver who has been issued an on-the-spot ticket for drink driving will need to complete a different application.

A court will not grant a work licence unless the applicant can show the court that;

• They are a for and proper person to hold a restricted licence, having regard to the safety of other road users and public generally; and
• The refusal of a work licence would cause extreme hardship to the driver or their family by depriving them of the means of earning their livelihood.

If the applicant is issued a fine which they are having trouble paying, they may ask the Court at anytime fore the full amount is due a Fine Option Order which allows the applicant to pay office fine through community service.

After the hearing and application is finalised in Court, the applicant can wait in the Magistrates Court while the order documents are prepared. An applicant who receives a work licence order from the Court must remember that a work licence order is not a work licence.

After receiving the order, the applicant must attend a Queensland Transport Customer Service Centre to receive their work licence. A successful applicant cannot under any circumstances drive until they have been issued with the work licence from Queensland Transport .

The work licence will generally last for the entire period of the disqualification. If the period of disqualification lasts longer than the work licence, a holder of a work licence must wait till the end of the disqualification period before re-applying for an open/provisional licence .

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Can I drive in Queensland with my INTERSTATE LICENCE?
Yes, you can drive on Queensland roads with an interstate licence however, if you move to Queensland you only have 3 months to get a licence issued by the Queensland Department of Transport.

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Can TAYLAW help you?
We hope to have provided you with enough information for you to make an informed decision as to whether or not it is a good idea to engage legal representation. We are experienced enough to help you with your traffic matters.

We reiterate the importance and severity of some of the matters that you may come across when you infringe laws relating to traffic and road rules in Queensland. Dangerous driving is considered to be one of the worst driving offences and even the 'basic' dangerous driving offence is treated very seriously by the courts. We can help you by ensuring that you have an experienced lawyer by your side to protect your rights and to make sure that your interests are looked after.

Having your licence disqualified can have a serious impact on a your life. It can prevent you from driving for work or driving your children to school. If you are convicted of an offence which results in your licence being disqualified we may be able to obtain for you the shortest disqualification period that is reasonable to minimise any disruption in your life.

If you have been charged with drink driving, there are a number of ways we can help you. We can advise you whether you should be pleading guilty or not guilty to the charge against you. If you decide to plead guilty, we can use our expertise to reduce any penalty that you might receive.

If your licence is to be disqualified and this is going to impact your employment, we can also help you by applying for a work licence which will allow you to keep driving for work purposes.

It is imperative that you choose the right lawyer for your matter. At TayLAW Solicitors we offer you the opportunity to have a no obligation chat to one of our experienced Traffic Lawyers.

If you would like to talk to one of our Traffic Lawyers please call TayLAW on (07) 5499 0588 or alternatively, you can send an email.

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