Driving with a suspended, cancelled or disqualified licence is an increasingly common offence in NSW, and in fact in other states across Australia. It is occurring more frequently for a number of reasons but the two main reasons are the willingness of the RTA and the Sate Debut Recovery Office to suspend driver’s licences due to the non-payment of fines and also because the police are getting better at detecting at unlicenced driving. As a result, very large numbers of people are coming before the courts for offences related to unlicenced driving or driving with a disqualified licence. In fact, court appearances for these matters are now almost as common as for drink driving and driving under the influence.

“Driving while Licence Suspended” offences occur in one of two main ways. The first is where a motorist incurs 12 demerit points and loses their licence for 3 months and then drives within this period. The second is where unpaid fines have been accrued. Normally these are speeding or parking fines but on occasion they are fines totally unrelated to driving, such as a fine for not having the appropriate ticket while riding on public transport. Typically a number of reminder notices are sent in respect of these fines. After a period time, however, the motorist’s licence is suspended. If they are caught driving after the licence is suspended they are charged with the offence of “Drive While Suspended”. Frequently, however, problems occur. In many cases, a motorist will have moved address and will not have received mail in relation to the fines, even despite having informed the RTA of the move of address. They can therefore before be charged with a serious offence, even though they had no idea their licence was suspended in the first place.

Penalties

The penalties associated with unlicenced driving offences are often vary severe. Many people are surprised to learn that the Magistrates have the power to impose prison sentences and/or community service in respect these types of cases. While this is only done in a minority of cases some magistrates are much more likely to take a harsh approach than others. In reality though, the most pressing issue for most drivers is the fact that these offences carry a mandatory 12 month period of licence suspension if they are convicted of the offence at court. This is often seen as harsh or unfair, especially given that drink drivers (even with blood alcohol readings in the High Range) can get back on the road much sooner. On hearing the additional length of time they face following a conviction, many motorists are truly stunned. The key question is “what is the most effective way of dealing with these charges when they come to court?”

Defending Unlicenced Driving Charges

Essentially there a 2 ways of avoiding the conviction, (and the 12 month licence suspension and fine of up $3,300 that goes with it). The first is to plead Guilty and ask for compassion on the grounds of an excellent driving history and prior good character. In cases such as this, the magistrate will find the offence proven, but will not enter a conviction. Instead they will impose a good behaviour bond. It is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid a conviction in this way as magistrates adopt a harsher approach to traffic offences, but it is still possible where the motorist has a good traffic record and the case is properly prepared (with good character references from friends and colleagues and representation in court by a lawyer who is experienced in the area of Traffic Law). The second approach is to plead Not Guilty and win. This often happens where a motorist can prove that they simply had no idea that they were suspended, and that this ignorance was “reasonable” in the circumstances. For example, in the case of someone is frequently traveling interstate and overseas for long periods or has moved address several times, a magistrate may see it as reasonable that they had missed some important mail containing information relating to fines and/or suspensions. However, a motorist could not use simple disorganization (not opening or keeping tack of mail) as a reason to argue that they should avoid a suspension.

Conclusion

Unlicenced Driving Charges are serious matters, potentially involving a criminal conviction, substantial additional suspensions, fines and in certain circumstances even custodial penalties. However, with experienced legal representation and thorough case preparation these “worst case” scenarios can often be avoided.

Jonathon Taylor is a criminal law and traffic offences Barrister practicing in Sydney. He practices in Jack Shand Chambers in the Sydney CBD.