A driver’s licence can be suspended for a variety of reasons including:
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Accumulation of demerit points
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Speeding over 30km/h
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Any speeding offence if you are on a Provisional 1 licence
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Non payment of fines
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Immediate suspension following a drink driving offence
If your licence has been suspended it is illegal to drive on a road or road related area in a vehicle class to which the suspended licence relates to.
If you are caught driving whilst in a suspension period you can be charged with ‘drive while suspended’ and will need to attend a Court where a magistrate may impose penalties for the offence.
Penalties for ‘drive while suspended’
The court has the discretion to impose a number of penalties for the charge of ‘drive while suspended’. It is important to note that even if you plead guilty (or are found guilty by the court) to the offence the court still has the discretion not to record a conviction against you and thus you will not be disqualified from driving for a further period. This is called a section 10 dismissal of the charge whereby you are found guilty but not convicted.
The court will consider several factors in determining whether you are an appropriate candidate for a section 10 dismissal such as your driving record, your good character, your needs for a licence and your early plead of guilty.
If you plead guilty (or are found guilty by the court) and the court does not allow for a section 10 dismissal of the charge they must at least impose the mandatory disqualification period which is 12 months for your first offence and 2 years for your second or subsequent offence. The court also has the discretion to impose fines, a gaol term and community service orders. The possible penalties for ‘drive while suspended’ are detailed in the following table:
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PENALTIES
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FIRST OFFENCE
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SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT OFFENCE
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Maximum court imposed fine
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$3,300
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$5,500
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Maximum gaol term
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18 months
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2 years
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Minimum disqualification
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12 months
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2 years
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Maximum disqualification
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Unlimited
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Unlimited
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Disqualification in the absence of a specific court order (automatic period)
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12 months
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2 years
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Defending the charge of’ drive while suspended’
There are a number of defences available to driving whilst suspended including:
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Honest and reasonable mistake: That is that you were not aware that your licence was cancelled or suspended because you were never notified by the RTA for example. You would need to put on evidence showing this.
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Challenging the legitimacy of the suspension on legal technicalities.
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Convincing the court that you were not the driver.
The most common defence is the honest and reasonable mistake.
As serious penalties are available to the court for this offence, most people charged with driving whilst suspended will plead guilty rather than risking that the court impose a more severe penalty if their defence is not accepted by the court.
How can Prime Lawyers help?
Our traffic lawyers have a wealth of experience and knowledge in this field of law. If you are pleading guilty to a drive while suspended charge we are able to appear at Court with you and make submissions to the court in an attempt to lessen the penalty that the Court imposes.
If you wish to defend the charge we can advise you of your chances of successfully defending the matter. Our traffic lawyers have extensive experience in presenting these matters to the court and their assistance will give you the greatest chance of obtaining a successful result.
Please contact our firm on (02) 9521 2222 to speak with one of our traffic lawyers today. Alternatively email your enquiry to us and we will contact you shortly.