As more and more Australians across the country are dealing with unlicensed driving offences, it’s important to revaluate your current situation. There should always be an understanding of the charge at hand, and how best to proceed.
There are varying penalties, considerations and legal definitions that coincide with unlicensed driving. If you happen to be caught in a situation like this, it’s important to act soon. Speaking to and engaging a law firm specialising in Traffic Law should be your first point of call.
Unlicensed driving offences in the Queensland court.
The law states, under section 78 of the Transport Operations Act 1995 “A person must not drive a motor vehicle on a road unless the person holds a driver licence authorising the person to drive the vehicle on the road.”
What disables the authorisation of a pre-existing license?
There are different ways a person can lose their authority to drive a motor vehicle. Generally, it’s the result of suspensions or disqualifications.
The cause for suspensions or disqualifications of licences include:
• failure to pay license renewal;
• failure to repay SPER debt;
• exceeding demerit points;
• due to medical conditions making it unsafe to drive; or
• due to a previous offence.
Penalties for Unlicensed Driving in QLD
A wide variety of outcomes and penalties exist under the unlicensed driving offence.
Which one you receive will depend on the representation you seek, and the circumstances of the offence.
If you’ve never held a licence and you’re caught on the road without one – the maximum or general penalties are 3 months mandatory licence disqualification and possible imprisonment depending on severity.
If your licence was previously disqualified and you’re caught driving, the penalties are generally a 2–5-year extension on the licence disqualification, or a possible prison sentence of up to 18 months.
For the simple offence of driving with an expired licence (which is commonly seen), there will generally be an on-the-spot-fine. This is the extent of the consequences, however, if you have previously received an unlicensed driving charge in the past 5 years, different penalties apply.
What the Court Will Consider
When the court issues a penalty, there are a few considerations at play.
These are outlined in section 78(2) of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995, and are as followed:
• The circumstances of the case (cause of aggravation and mitigation);
• the persons' criminal history and traffic history; • Public interest;
• relevant background information related to the person i.e., medical history or mental health issues; and
• If the offence was committed in conjunction with another offence
Traffic Lawyers Brisbane, Toowoomba and Roma, Queensland. Unlicensed Driving, Suspensions, and Disqualified Driving Offences
A person’s authority to drive on a Queensland Road can be removed for a variety of reasons. Creevey Russell Lawyers routinely represents individuals facing disqualified driving, unlicensed driving, and driving with suspended charges. Our team of lawyers have detailed knowledge of the relevant law and can promptly provide you with representation for all types of traffic proceeding.
Contact Creevey Russell Lawyers, today. Call us on 07 3009 6555 or email us at creeveyrussell@crlawyers.com.au.