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Although they may not be regarded as crimes in the same league as the likes of bank robbery and fraud, nevertheless driving offences will still mean punishments for those who commit them. Criminal lawyers may not always be required to represent those who commit minor driving offences, but for the more serious driving offences they most certainly should be consulted.
The reason for that is that the punishments which can be applied when someone has been convicted of a serious driving offence can go all the way up the scale to include disqualification from driving, fines, and ultimately, a term of imprisonment.
Serious driving offences will include those that involve driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and there are three main definitions of these, which are:
- Driving with a blood-alcohol level which is greater than 0.08%
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol to the extent that you are incapable of properly controlling a vehicle
- Refusing to provide the police with a sample of urine, breath or blood when requested.
The most obvious punishment that anyone who commits a serious driving offence relating to drink driving can expect to receive is a disqualification from driving. This will be in the form of a disqualification notice, and these are normally issued by the police.
Disqualification notices can be issued by the police to the driver at the time the offence occurs, or alternatively, they can be issued up to ten days after the day of the offence. A disqualification notice normally remains in force for 2 months, and it applies to the offender from the moment that they receive it.
If someone who is serving a disqualification decides to drive anyway and is caught doing so, they will be charged with an offence called unauthorised driving, and there are a wide range of penalties that can be imposed. These include a fine of $300 if it is your first offence, $600 for a repeat offence, and under certain circumstances, a prison sentence of up to 18 months can be the punishment.
Further to these, anyone caught driving while under a disqualification notice, can have their vehicle impounded for 28 days, plus they will be required to pay any costs involved with that process.
Other driving offences considered serious, but which do not involve alcohol or drugs, relate to how a person was driving. These normally fall under the category of reckless driving and dangerous driving are not to be confused with the lesser offence of careless driving.
Dangerous driving covers a wide range of driving scenarios, but they generally relate to driving which causes serious injury to others, or worse, death. Previous convictions will be taken into account so repeat offenders can expect a heavier punishment than first-time offenders.
Fines range from $800 to $2,000, and a 9-month prison sentence can be handed down. As for your licence, a disqualification of up to 12 months can also be imposed.
With reckless driving, you are deemed to have been driving dangerously to the point that members of the public are endangered, and this includes when driving at excessive speeds of over 95 miles per hour. Once again the range of penalties include fines, imprisonment, and disqualification.
Fines can be up to $6,000 even for the first offence, 9 months in prison could be the punishment and a disqualification period of at least 6 months could be applied. Repeat offenders, as with other driving penalties can expect all of these to be increased.
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