If you are facing charges for traffic offences, timely and effective legal representation can make a significant difference. Traffic violations can range from minor infractions to serious offences, potentially affecting your driving record, insurance premiums, and even your freedom. At Marcellus Law, I provide dedicated legal support to protect your rights and minimize the impact of these charges.
Contact Marcellus Law today for expert advice on traffic offences in Melbourne. As one of the leading criminal lawyers in Melbourne we can advise you on how best to protect your rights. Our office has successfully defended matters where driving behaviour is at issue or where there are evidential issues around speed. If you’re in need of a traffic defense attorney, we can provide the guidance and representation necessary to protect your interests.
Traffic offences are derived mostly from the Road Safety Act (1986), a Victorian Legislation, and it is important to understand that every state governs their own road laws. An offence under this Act is classified as a traffic offence and will be recorded on your traffic priors, no matter how minor the offence, if the matter was determined in court. Penalties are relatively low for these offences however they usually carry some demerit points, or even discretionary or mandatory licence suspensions or cancellations, that offenders must be wary of. It is always helpful to discuss these matters with a lawyer so you can be certain about any mandatory provisions that apply.
More serious offences, those that lead to injury or death on the road due to the conduct of the driver, move into the criminal realm and the relevant provisions are found in the Crimes Act (1958), also a Victorian legislation. These criminal offences typically carry much higher penalties including the recording of criminal convictions, lengthy licence losses, and period of imprisonment for offences at the highest level.
The large spectrum of traffic offences are detailed below.
Road Rule 20 of the Road Safety Rules prohibits drivers from exceeding the speed limit in the road on which they are driving. Any offence where a driver exceeds the speed limit at or below 24 km/h is usually resolved by way of an infringement imposing a fine and demerit points.
Once a road user is detected at 25 km/h or over, the mandatory licence suspension provisions will be engaged and Police, on issuing an infringement, must then impose a mandatory suspension period. The mandatory minimum suspension periods are detailed in Schedule 5 of the Road Safety Act and are as follows:
Any offence where the road user is alleged to have been travelling 45 km/h or more will usually be accompanied by a charge of driving at a speed dangerous (explained below) and result in a court summons where the matter will be heard and resolved in court.
For a speeding charge to be proven Police must have evidence of the speed that is alleged. The most compelling evidence is usually through a speed detection device (or radar) that locks on to and tracks the speed of the road user. Police members are usually trained in the operation of these devices and attend to their regular maintenance and calibration. If this evidence is not available Police may rely on less effective methods such as estimation of speed through observation of their dashboard, and because these methods are less effective a road user may have greater success in defeating charges alleged on this evidence.
Also compelling is evidence taken from the driver after interception due to an alleged speeding offence. A Police member will usually approach the driver of the vehicle and activate their body worn camera to conduct what is a called a ‘field interview’. The driver’s rights will be read and they will be warned that evidence will be taken from them through questioning. It is important to understand that admission by the driver during a field interview that they were speeding or aware of the speed they were driving at is usually strong evidence and difficult to challenge.
It is important to contact a Marcellus Law and seek advice where you dispute the speed that Police have alleged, or the allegation that you were speeding at all.
Section 30 of the Road Safety Act states:
A person must not drive a motor vehicle on a highway while the authorisation granted to him or her to do so is suspended or during a period of disqualification from obtaining such an authorisation.
There is an important distinction between driving whilst ‘suspended’ and driving whilst ‘disqualified’. Although both carry the same penalty, it is usually helpful to understand how a licence may qualify as either.
A licence is usually suspended through demerit point accumulation or mandatory speeding provisions. Suspensions are usually effected administratively through the local road authority, being VicRoads, and at the end of a suspension period the road user will be able to resume driving.
A disqualification however usually occurs as a consequence of more serious offences such as drink or drug driving, dangerous driving, or higher level criminal offences involving motor vehicles. Disqualifications are usually imposed by a Court on sentencing and it is a requirement that at the end of a disqualification period the road user must apply to a Court to be relicensed by a Magistrate. Road users are therefore not allowed to drive at the end of a disqualification period until the application is successful, and many have been charged correctly for driving whilst disqualified even though this period has ended.
It is also an offence to drive a motor vehicle without a licence, as section 18 of the Road Safety Act requires any road user to have a valid licence while driving a motor vehicle. This offence carries lower penalties than charges of driving whilst suspended or disqualified, but will still usually require a person to attend court for the charge.
Section 65 of the Road Safety Act states:
A person who drives a motor vehicle on a highway carelessly is guilty of an offence.
While the Act does not explain the extent or limitations of the term ‘carelessly’, in practical terms it takes its ordinary meaning. This means that a road user will usually be charged with this offence when careless behaviour is observed such as swerving in and out of lanes, speeding in high traffic areas, or causing a light motor vehicle collision. There are no mandatory licence provisions here and a Magistrate may depending on the circumstances exercise their discretion to suspend or cancel a road user’s licence.
When behaviour is more concerning or the consequences more serious, the road user’s conduct may then be classified as dangerous.
Section 64 of the Road Safety Act states: A person must not drive a motor vehicle at a speed or in a manner which is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances of the case.
Driving may be classified as dangerous where the road user is observed driving at excessively high speeds, driving on the wrong side of the wrong against other road users, or causes an accident as a result of dangerous driving behaviour. There is an added component to this offence and it is a requirement for Police to prove that the behaviour was ‘dangerous to the public’. This, as the charge states, will rely on the circumstances of each case. Driver’s who are alleged to have been speeding 45 km/h or more over the speed limit will automatically attract a charge of driving at a speed dangerous. These offences almost always result in charges that require a court hearing.
There is a mandatory disqualification period for dangerous driving. The mandatory minimum disqualification period is 6 months, and will increase to a 12 month minimum if Police can prove that the speed of the road user was 45 km/h or more than the speed limit during the alleged behaviour.
A regular and important distinction that we often face when advising on these charges is whether the behaviour qualifies as careless or dangerous. Due to the more severe consequences of dangerous driving, it is important to contact a lawyer and seek advice on if and how your driving behaviour qualifies as either.
Careless driving under s65 – 12 penalty units (or a fine) for a first offence, and 25 penalty units for any subsequent offence.
Dangerous driving under s 64 – 240 penalty units (or a fine) or maximum 2 years imprisonment.
Section 64A of the Road Safety Act states: The driver of a motor vehicle who knows, or ought reasonably to know, that they have been given a direction to stop must stop the motor vehicle as soon as practicable after being given the direction and remain stopped until a police officer or protective services officer indicates that the driver may proceed.
In addition to the punishment element, the consequence of being found guilty of this offence is always a licence disqualification. The Court must impose a mandatory minimum of 6 months disqualification on a road user for a first offence, and a minimum of 12 months for a second offence.
Disputes around this charge usually involve whether a direction was reasonably given or whether the road user stopped their motor vehicle as soon as practicable. This depends on the circumstances of the case, and section 64A itself assists by describing such directions as including but not limited to the giving of hand signals or display of signs by Police, as well as the flashing of headlights, use of red and blue flashing lights, or the sound of an alarm or siren from a motor vehicle that is driven by a police officer during the course of their duties.
It is important to contact a lawyer where you disagree with or dispute Police allegation that a reasonable direction was given or that you did not stop as soon as practicable.
As motor vehicle related matters become more serious, so too do the consequences or potential consequences of the driver’s behaviour. Charges arising out of this driving behaviour move away from the Road Safety Act, where the theme of the legislation is deterrence through licence suspensions or cancellations, and into the Crimes Act, where the theme now becomes the manner and extent of punishment.
Section 319AA of the Crimes Act states: A person must not drive a motor vehicle dangerously or negligently if he or she knows, or ought reasonably to know, that he or she has been given a direction to stop the vehicle by a police officer, and a police officer is pursuing the vehicle.
These charges are commonly laid against offenders who engage in police chases across the roads of Victoria. Due to the disruptive and potentially catastrophic consequences of police chases, these offences, on a finding of guilt, usually result in sentences of imprisonment.
Driving dangerously is given the same meaning as in the Road Safety Act, explained in the above section on Dangerous Driving. Failing to stop also carries the same meaning as with the above section on Failing to Stop on Police Direction. Driving negligently differs slightly, and is explained by the Act as a driver failing to unjustifiably and to a gross degree observe the standard of care of a reasonable person in the circumstances. As with the interpretation of dangerous, this will very much depend on the circumstances, or facts, of the case at hand. It is after all the driving behaviour of the accused, in circumstances where Police attempt to intercept, that is the cause of greatest concern. If you have been charged with this offence it is important to speak with a lawyer and seek advice on whether or not your behaviour can be classified as dangerous or negligent as is required to prove the charge.
Section 24 of the Crimes Act states: A person who by negligently doing or omitting to do an act causes serious injury to another person is guilty of an indictable offence.
This charge commonly arises in the context of motor vehicles, as opposed to other charges of inflicting serious injury that may be found in our page on ‘Assault Offences’. The key distinction is the issue of duty of care that is imposed as an element of this charge. All road users owe a duty of care to other road users when on the road and must insure that their condition and conduct does not place other road users at risk of harm. This charge is typically attracted where a road user breached that duty of care, through their own negligence, voluntarily, and another person suffered a serious injury as a result.
Serious injury is defined in the Crimes Act as as an injury that endangers life, or is substantial or protracted.
It is important to understand that voluntariness relates to the deliberate and willing conduct of the road user in engaging in an act. It does not mean that a road user deliberately caused serious injury, but rather that they engaged in an act deliberately that caused that injury. An example would be where the road user, in attempting to overtake another vehicle, travelled onto the wrong side of the road and caused a collision with an oncoming road user which resulted in a serious injury. There was a voluntariness, as well as negligence towards their duty of care towards other road users, which resulted in the injury to another. Other common examples that attract this charge are where a road user consumes a large amount of drugs or alcohol to the point of impairment and consciously assumes control over a motor vehicle, and as a result of this condition harms another person through the use of their motor vehicle.
This offence almost always result in a period of imprisonment on a finding of guilt. If you have been charged with this offence it is important that you see a lawyer to discuss the criteria of the charge and whether your conduct meets the definitions of voluntary, negligence, whether you owed a duty of care, or whether the injury to the victim can be classified as a serious injury.
Negligently causing serious injury under s24 – Maximum 10 years imprisonment.
The Crimes Act carries specific offences that will be laid when the consequences of the driver’s dangerous behaviour results in harm to another person.
Section 319(1A) of the Crimes Act states: A person who, by driving a motor vehicle at a speed or in a manner dangerous to the public having regard to all the circumstances of the case, causes serious injury to another person is guilty of an indictable offence.
‘Serious Injury’ and ‘Dangerous’ carry the same definitions as the above sections and Police simply need to prove that the driver’s behaviour was dangerous having regard to all the circumstances of the case, and that the result was a serious injury to another person.
Section 319(1) of the Crimes Act states: A person who, by driving a motor vehicle at a speed or in a manner dangerous to the public having regard to all the circumstances of the case, causes the death of another person is guilty of an indictable offence.
In circumstances where death is caused as a result of the dangerous driving behaviour, the Crimes Act imposes an immediate term of imprisonment on a finding of guilt.
Seeking advice from a lawyer is necessary given the relatively simple criteria of these offences and the serious consequence that may ensue. Discussions around mitigation, or reducing the impact of the sentence, are crucial for these offences.
Section 318 of the Crimes Act states: Any person who by the culpable driving of a motor vehicle causes the death of another person shall be guilty of an indictable offence.
The most disputed criterion for this offence is the meaning of ‘culpable’ and whether the offender’s driving behaviour falls under this definition. Culpable can mean any of the following:
Recklessness, or a conscious or unjustifiable disregard for a substantial risk of death to or the infliction of grievous bodily harm on another person as a result of their driving; or
Negligence, or an unjustifiable failure to a gross degree to observe the standard of care which a reasonable person would have observed in the circumstances; or
Whilst under the influence of alcohol to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the motor vehicle; or
Whilst under the influence of a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the motor vehicle.
As can be deduced from the above, culpable driving will have to involve a serious lack of regard to risk and other road users which results ultimately in the worst possible outcome on the road. If you are charged with this offence it is important to speak to a lawyer as the question and issue of culpability could determine the length of time you spend in prison for this offence.
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I will take the time to understand the charges, review all evidence, and pinpoint any errors or gaps in the prosecution’s argument. Even seemingly minor charges can result in lasting penalties. I will ensure your case is fairly assessed and your rights are upheld.
Criminal charges can have lasting and permanent effects on your life. I will work to mitigate the impact of these allegations and build a strong defense or plea.
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If you’ve been charged with a traffic offence anywhere in Victoria, we’re here to help.
Traffic offences can range from minor issues to significant legal challenges. Below are answers to frequently asked questions to help you better understand your situation.
Traffic offences can disrupt your life, but with the right legal representation, you can take steps to protect your rights and minimize the impact. Let’s work together to resolve your case and safeguard your future.
