Aussie driving laws???

[cee-dee]

I was watching an old episode of Highway Patrol and a couple of different blokes were nabbed for numerous offences and on conviction, along with fines etc they had their driving licences cancelled and were disqualified from driving for a time.

What does it mean? If their licence was cancelled that's it? How could they then be disqualified from driving? If the licence was cancelled, they wouldn't (shouldn't?) be driving anyway?

In the UK, if you're banned from driving it's usually for a set period of time and your licence is taken from you. If you're disqualified, you can't drive (well, you're not supposed to).

Some of your fines are a lot harsher than in the UK but your periods of disqualification are a heck of a lot shorter. For instance, driving over the drink/driving limit is a minimum of 12 months disqualification but I've seen (we get some Aussie TV programms here)  blokes in Australia only disqualified for a couple of months.

[serendipityricho]

Hi CD.

My thinking is if a drivers licence is cancelled the person needs to apply to

a court for permission to resit a drivers test and start again at the end of term.

Disqualified means you cant drive for the period of suspension but 

can start driving when the time is up.

Just my ideas-someone will shoot me down in flames later.

Richo.

[kopenhagen5]

Spot on Richo. 

[davidc4430]

There are laws?

this new world is astounding!

please explain once again how sheeps bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes.

[bright.ton42]

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@serendipityricho wrote:

Hi CD.

My thinking is if a drivers licence is cancelled the person needs to apply to

a court for permission to resit a drivers test and start again at the end of term.

Disqualified means you cant drive for the period of suspension but 

can start driving when the time is up.

Just my ideas-someone will shoot me down in flames later.

Richo.

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Yes, that's right     

[zanadoo_56]

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@cee-dee wrote:

I was watching an old episode of Highway Patrol and a couple of different blokes were nabbed for numerous offences and on conviction, along with fines etc they had their driving licences cancelled and were disqualified from driving for a time.

What does it mean? If their licence was cancelled that's it? How could they then be disqualified from driving? If the licence was cancelled, they wouldn't (shouldn't?) be driving anyway?

In the UK, if you're banned from driving it's usually for a set period of time and your licence is taken from you. If you're disqualified, you can't drive (well, you're not supposed to).

Some of your fines are a lot harsher than in the UK but your periods of disqualification are a heck of a lot shorter. For instance, driving over the drink/driving limit is a minimum of 12 months disqualification but I've seen (we get some Aussie TV programms here)  blokes in Australia only disqualified for a couple of months.

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The penalities can differ from State to State in Oz.  A lot also depends on the level of alcohol in the blood and whether the driver is a repeat offender.....or is a probationary driver where they must have an alcohol reading of 0.00.

I found this comparison of penalties between NSW and VIC: http://www.findlaw.com.au/articles/4573/drink-driving-penalties.aspx

How to do those compare to the UK?

[cee-dee]

Hi Folks, current alcohol limits in the UK are:-

• 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 ml of breath
• 80mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood
• 107mg of alcohol in 100 ml of urine

The penalties are:-

A minimum disqualification for being over the limit is 12 months.

If you have a previous disqualification for drink-driving in the last 10 years,, the disqualification is a minimum of 3 years.

Depending on the circumstances, you could also face up to six months imprisonment and a fine of up to £5000. You could also face community service and/or wearing an electronic tag.

However, the fines are rarely anything like the maximum

If there are aggravating circumstances..... watch out as any ban will be longer and imprisonment could be longer.

[this-one-time-at-bandcamp]

Here in the US, we've had DUIs who drive, even when their license have been pulled, many of them are repeat offenders.  I have frequently urged our state government to confiscate repeat offenders' cars, no matter who the owner is.  The mandatory minimum for an Oregon DUII is two days jail or 80 hours community service work and a $1,000 fine (an additional $2,000 if your BAC was 0.15% or higher) AND you have to do the victim impact panel and alcohol treatment as part of probation. If it is your 2nd conviction within 5 years, your suspension is for 3 years. However, you are eligible for a hardship permit after 90 days.  A third conviction results in a mandatory lifetime license suspension through the Oregon DMV. You are NOT eligible for a hardship permit after a lifetime suspension. However, after ten years, you may petition the DMV for reinstatement under ORS 809.235.