DUI's - Bebaffled By It All!

[mooncat]

Can anybody shed some light on this for me ? :
I travelled all over Australia for four months in my trusty Ford Falcon Stationwaggon and eventually rocked up into Darwin on 1st August. On my second night there I made a stupid mistake. I'd parked the Beast at about 8pm in a parking zone that was restricted from 8am in the morning to 8pm at night, had a couple of beers, and was just about to leave when I spotted some friends from Perth, hence a couple more beers.
Later on I decided that I had to get the car out of the restricted zone before morning so, stupidly, I got in it and drove. I did an illegal U-Turn and the cops pulled me, breathoed me, and I was banged up for the night for DUI. Next day I was in court and I recieved a twelve month suspension and a 600 dollar fine. I paid the fine straight off.
Upon arriving in Perth a month later I checked to see if I was suspended in WA at the Dept. of Planning and Infrastructure. Nothing showed up. I have since checked again three times on the internet and found that I have no suspension in WA. I again checked in person at the DPI, nothing on my license record. The cop in Darwin said it will be recorded on computer in all states. Other people say it won't.
Can someone please tell me what the/my situation is in this great and crazy country ? Has anyone got a similar story ? Can I drive in WA or what ? I'm bebaffled by it all.(I have a WA license by the way and the Darwin cop said they couldn't take it off me. He said I was banned, not the license)
Mooncat : :togo:

[Casper]

Its supposed to be Australia wide and the computer system is supposed to be Aust wide as well. Problem is it isnt always done timely. I know all my speeding points didnt manage to ever follow me when I changed license from Qld to Vic a few years back. Shame that.

[devilcv8]

fact is no state can cancel/suspend another state's driver's license. What they can do is remove your right to drive in their state and notify your state of the offence.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by devilcv8

fact is no state can cancel/suspend another state's driver's license. What they can do is remove your right to drive in their state and notify your state of the offence.

I am fairly sure that this is still the case. Points now are shared but other offences are not. This definitely was the case about 5 years ago when a friend of mine was done in NSW for speeding and evading arrest (when in actual fact he had no idea he was being chased, he was on a bike and the plod was in a GD car) He was banned for 2 years but only in NSW. (QLD licence).

[devilcv8]

Originally Posted by flappist

I am fairly sure that this is still the case. Points now are shared but other offences are not.

Even points have a good chance of not being shared.......

[cowboy]

Have been caught fair and square by several cameras in WA but fines never made it my vic address. Lic and reg both in Vic.

[MYVYSS]

Been caught twice, Once in Tassie, I was booked for a small amout over the limit, and at the time was on 11 points, 6 months later they passed the points to VicRoads, and I had to make the choice to be a good boy for 12 months or risk losing the licence for 6 months, fast forward to Feb this year and was Booked in QLD for a small amout over the limit again, 6 months later they passed the point to Vicroads and I lost my licence for 6 months, however I am now in the USA and have a Californian licence, and can drive legally in Australia on this even though my Victorian licence as such is suspended... It can take a while for them to actually notifiy your home state as to the fine/points!

[cowboy]

First time i got snapped is coming up 18 months ago so reckon I'm safe now!

[Casper]

I think I know why my points didnt follow me.
When I moved back from Qld to Vic and went to change my license they asked if I had ever had a Vic license. Of course I had and knew what address it was registered at last so they simply reactivated it.

I'm guessing that may have been why I got 12 fresh points. I didnt "transfer" my Qld license, I reactivated my old Vic license.

[CaptDan]

Here's one for you, a while ago now....lost all 12 points in Qld, went for the 2 points for 2 years provisional instead of suspension, went to Darwin a month later (work) applied for an NT license and they gave me an open license. There was no demerit point system in the NT at that stage (don't know if this has changed). Then got pinged for DUI in Qld on NT license and lost the lot! Yes I'm a d**khead. Thing is, I blew 0.06, in the NT this is a fine only, in Qld I ended up in court.

[uranium_death]

I think you've been TUI -typing under the influence. No such word as bebaffled...there is baffled and there is befuddled, but no bebaffled.

It is better to simply play it safe and get confirmation from the law simply because they're MEANT to give you the correct answers.

Just keep pestering the correct people until they give you the correct answer.

[jaydee]

Originally Posted by devilcv8

fact is no state can cancel/suspend another state's driver's license. What they can do is remove your right to drive in their state and notify your state of the offence.

Ditto, what he said.
Not enforceable in another state. You're are only banned in the state you get convicted in, thats why some truckies have numerous drivers licenses.

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by jaydee

Ditto, what he said.
Not enforceable in another state. You're are only banned in the state you get convicted in, thats why some truckies have numerous drivers licenses.

Sorry Jaydee, this is absolute bull$hit. Tell whoever told you this that they are full of it.

Truck drivers in Australia have a national licence.

This has been the case since the early nineties. If you drive a truck, it doesn’t matter what state you stuff up in, you lose your licence for all of Australia.

[Bill_R]

I found some info on this which is a bit ambiguous. The link is: http://www.trafficlaw.com.au/speeding.fines.html

"Q. I was caught speeding in NSW at 40kmh over the speed limit. Will my Victorian driver's licence be affected?

Most likely yes. In most cases VicRoads can suspend your licence as though the offence occurred in Victoria. After the RTA sends VicRoads notice of the offence, VicRoads will then send you a notice stating that your drivers licence will be suspended from a date commencing in about 4 weeks, and ending on the date on which you cease being a suspended driver in NSW.



Q. I was caught speeding in Victoria at 40kmh over the speed limit. Will my NSW/UK driver's licence be affected?

Your interstate or overseas licence can not be suspended by any Victorian law or authority. However, your right to drive in Victoria will be suspended for 6 months, however you may want to seek legal advice about your particular circumstances because the law can be ambiguous in this area. Interstate licence holders may find that their local licencing authority has the power to suspend their interstate drivers licence if they become disqualified from driving in Victoria. Driving during a period of suspension or disqualification is an offence punishable by imprisonment. Victorian law can not prevent you from using a non-Victorian licence in other states."

[Bill_R]

more info. This time from: http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/reports_par/agp11606.html

"Interstate and overseas drivers

About 22 per cent of the unmatched transactions we identified were demerit points for interstate or overseas drivers. As a result, they are not included in the VicRoads’ licensing database.

Currently, demerit points are exchanged by DPX, a stand-alone computer system which transmits offenders’ details to and from a central dispatch system in NSW.

There are a number of reasons why demerit points are not always allocated to interstate and overseas licences. These include:

• under current inter-jurisdictional agreements, only agreed offences can be exchanged

• Victoria only transfers information when a fine has been paid or upon registration within the Infringements Court. Interstate offences that have been challenged in the Magistrates Court are not transferred, even if the court upholds the offence

****• not all jurisdictions have set up mechanisms to exchange information (WA does not use DPX and the NT does not have a demerit point system).****

Exchange of demerit points across state borders is complex and Austroads10 has prepared a number of reports identifying problems with cross-jurisdictional transfers of demerit points, and proposing solutions."

dated "Last updated: 20 July 2006".