SPEEDING OFFENCES
Police automatic suspension
Certain offences carry immediate suspension of a license in some circumstances. These include an offence involving death, grievous bodily harm caused by the use of a motor vehicle, driving under the influence (or prescribed concentration of alcohol), driving under the influence of certain drugs (other than alcohol) and prescribed speeding offences.
You must be given notice of this suspension.
Appeal of automatic suspension to the Local Court
You may appeal to the Local Court under the Road Transport (General) Act 2005, Section 242 and pursuant to the Road Transport (General) Regulation 2005, Section 22.
Notice of the appeal must be lodged with the Local Court no later than 28 days after the date on which the notice of suspension is given. If you have difficulty with the process of lodging the appeal notice, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Ordinarily, the Court will be interested in exceptional circumstances such as:
(a) Your job being dependent on your license;
(b) Family circumstances that require you to have a license; and
(c) Any medical condition that justify the license.
It is always recommended to obtain supporting documentation such as references from employers, references from doctors etc.
There are decisions that cannot be appealed and we can provide you with advice in relation to your specific circumstances in our initial conference or telephone call.
Habitual traffic offender
A court may convict you as a habitual traffic offender and disqualify you from driving for a further 5 years. You can be declared as a habitual traffic offender if you are convicted of an offence and a further 2 other relevant offence within the period of 5 years. There are a large number of relevant offences which can be included.
An application can be made to quash a habitual traffic offender declaration. This requires demonstrating to the Court that this disqualification period of 5 years as imposed by the habitual traffic offender order is disproportionate and unjust after taking into account your special circumstances and your prior driving record.
