Information on Traffic Offences
Our traffic lawyers specialise in providing legal counsel for a wide range of traffic offences, including those outlined below.
Careless Driving and Hooning
Hooning is described as any anti-social behaviour in a vehicle which includes speeding, street racing, playing excessively loud music and so on. A hooning offence could involve a fine of 20 to 40 penalty units or even 6 months in jail. In addition, your vehicle can be impounded, immobilised, or confiscated by the police.
Drink Driving Offences (DUI)
A DUI offence will involve a visit to the court where a magistrate will decide how long your license is to be disqualified, and whether you will be fined or sentenced to prison. The nature of the penalty will depend on your blood/breath alcohol level at the time of the offence, prior history and whether you have had any prior convictions for the same offence.
Penalties may include a 24-hour licence suspension for a minor offence. However, if you have been charged with a prior low range offence, it could result in an immediate license suspension which will be resolved in court. Repeated drink driving offences can lead to more serious consequences where your car may be impounded, license disqualified for 2 years, a fine of up to $8000, or a term of imprisonment if determined necessary by the court.
Dangerous Driving
It is important to remember that a dangerous driving offence is classified as a criminal offence in Queensland. The maximum penalty for a dangerous driving charge is 200 penalty points ($23,560) or up to 3 years of prison time. If you were under the influence of alcohol or other substance, were speeding or participating in a street race or have prior dangerous driving convictions, the penalty may be increased to 400 penalty units and up to 5 years in prison.
Drug Driving and Reckless Driving
Queensland has a zero-tolerance policy for driving under the influence of drugs. You can be charged with a drug driving offence if a listed drug is present in your saliva. A sample can be collected at the time of the offence by police and checked for illicit drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy, and amphetamines. If your roadside test yields a positive result, you may be required to do a second test as a confirmation, following which your license will be suspended for a 24-hour period.
The maximum penalty for drug driving is 14 penalty units or 3 months of imprisonment. Your license will also be disqualified for a period of between 1 to 9 months depending on the details of the case.
