QLD Drivers Licence - Good Behaviour Not An Option If Guilty?

[Cdn]

Hey so just wondering something. I'll try and keep it short and sweet.
My partner was on a good behaviour drivers licence and he got pulled over for speeding. He elected to take it to court, but now is realising we might not have much luck even though we don't think the police officer is right with his speed recording. His driving past history is not the greatest (speeding fines) and we don't really want to spend a ton on lawyers so don't think our chances are good.

He is no longer on the good behaviour licence and I'm wondering if he pleads guilty would he just have to cop the fine and demerit points? Or will they backtrack it and penalise him in accordance with the good behaviour guidelines?

 

[Amanda E]

Have a read of the Queensland Government Department of Transport and Main Roads page Open licence demerit points (Department of Transport and Main Roads) - it sets out information answering your question, including that if he gets 2 or more demerit points recorded against him during his good driving behaviour period, then his licence "will be suspended for double the suspension period that would have applied" had he chosen the licence suspension in the first place.

 

[Ivy]

Hi there,

In addition to Amanda's answer, you said that your partner didn't think the police person got the speed right? As far as I am aware, the police have to be able to back up their claim of the speed that a person is caught at. That is easy when there is a fixed speeding camera. However I believe that if the police caught your partner with a radar speed gun, then they have to be able to show the driver the speed they were going on the radar gun screen before issuing a ticket.

 

[Tracy B]

Hi Cdn,

I would say it depends on what deal you settle on with the police.

In relation to challenging the speeding ticket, this depends on what detection method was used. When you get a ticket, it is merely an "alleged" number and where you challenge it, the police will need to produce evidence of this in court (e.g. photographic reading, video recording). One common method is to challenge the calibration of radar detectors.

Here is a link that may help in understanding more about police speed detection methods: RACQ - Speed & Red Light Cameras (might be worth giving them a call and enquiring about how to challenge these methods.
Note that police are not always obliged to show you a radar reading (or photographic evidence) before sending you the fine: see "Speeding Fines - Can Police Refuse to Show Radar Reading?"

 

[Cdn]

I know it was ages ago but just wanted to update the outcome on this.

We took it to court and deferred it in the first appearance as we wanted to still research more before making a plea.

Paid $200 for a 1-hour consultation with a lawyer to see if we had any chance. At first, he said that there was no chance in winning however I pointed out on the ticket that the cop had written down a bunch of numbers. The lawyer quickly changed his mind and said that we could have a chance. He became very interested in our matter and even took a picture of the ticket as he had never seen that before. He also later (free of cost) contacted the police to request evidence. The police got back to him saying that they were no longer going ahead with the charges as the police who issued the ticket has retired. We didn't even have to go to court to defend anything!

So basically, we believe that maybe the cop did retire and that's why they didn't go ahead in court or that the numbers represented an estimation which would not hold in court. As soon as it cleared my husband had all of his points back (because by the time the court date came his good behaviour year was up) and we learned to always look at all your options before pleading guilty to a fine. If we didn't push it by attempting court and actually asking for their evidence my husband would have probably lost his licence because the fear instilled by the police and everyone saying he doesn't have a chance would have made him plead guilty.

It's funny how the police waited until they were contacted before throwing out the charges. They were just waiting for a guilty plea

 

[AlphaR1]

Your husband is extremely lucky the cop had retired. The other road users are probably not so lucky.