0.05 Alcohol Limit for Drink Driving: Has Australia Got it Right?
In Australia, drivers are required to maintain a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of under 0.05% (i.e. 0.05 grams of alcohol per 100 mL of blood). Readings of 0.05 to 0.079 are classified as ‘low range’, readings between 0.08 and 0.149...
Facing Prison for Not Paying Road Toll
Imagine being slapped with a $50,000 fine for outstanding tolls - and being told you could face prison if you fail to pay. It might sound outrageous, but this is the situation confronting dozens of Victorian motorists each year -...
Drivers Shafted After Helping Police
Vehicle owners are fuming after their cars were used by Victorian police to stop a police pursuit, who then told them to take care of the resulting damage themselves. Drivers were travelling on the Tullamarine Freeway when police asked to...
Beating a Drink Driving Case, Naturally
A New York woman who was charged with drink driving has had the charges dropped after being diagnosed with a rare medical condition which causes her body to produce alcohol. The woman, who cannot be named, was pulled over after...
Traffic Offences: Hot Spots for Getting Caught
Home to tourist hotspots like Manly and Palm Beach, the Northern Beaches is one of the most scenic areas of Sydney. But according to data obtained by Fairfax Media, the region also has the highest number of drink driving offences,...
Operation ‘Arrive Alive’ Aims to Promote Safe Driving
As of Friday 18 December, police have invested extra resources into targeting drink driving, speeding and unlicensed driving in the lead up to Christmas. Police reported that on day one of the blitz, called ‘Operation Arrive Alive’, 48,916 breath tests...
Avoiding a Criminal Record by Doing Rehab
Section 10 dismissal and conditional release orders are often considered the ‘holy grail’ of sentencing outcomes. As mentioned in several of our blogs, section 10 dismissals and conditional release orders of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 allows a person to avoid a...
Sneezing: A Defence Against Driving Charges?
Negligent, reckless and dangerous driving charges often follow collisions where a person is seriously hurt. As discussed in a previous blog, drivers must be acting voluntarily to be found guilty of driving offences. Being asleep, acting under duress (under threat),...
The Dangers of Drowsy Driving
The law in Australia is that a person cannot be found guilty of dangerous or reckless driving if they were asleep at the time, as long as they honestly and reasonably believed they would not fall asleep. In other words,...
Condom Mercy Mission and the Defence of Necessity
Back in 2004, 24-year-old Darwin man Lee Collinson was driving without a licence to his cousin’s home when pulled over by police. His explanation for driving was that he had to make urgent delivery: “My cousin was about to [have...
