Escaping traffic infringement

[glenn k]

I was just caught driving while using a mobile phone. Silly I know, I get off at other people doing it when they're all over the road.
I haven't been booked for 10-15 years is it possible to get off by saying sorry but I have been a good boy in the past? I saw an add for 60 miniutes a few years back I think, that said some solicitor was getting many people off camera speeding fines that had good driving records by writing in. Is it possible? Was in rubbish? I'm in Victoria.

[wheelinround]

I have a suggestion but the fellow with the big scythe would delete it.

I find the phone law totally stupid and ironic as was the "Not allowed to use CB's whilest driving" was years ago. No such law for eating or drinking (non-alchohlic) in a vehicle whilest driving.

The same Governments Australia wide allowed them into the market.

Whats the difference to Cabbie's, Emergency services who use Two way radio's these devices have been around for many years yet we have never seen a law applied to them and they are cable attached still.

Or
as a past Tourist Coach drive having to use a hand held or boom mounted microphone while giving commentary.

[Chesand]

For a speeding offence you are allowed a let-off every 2 (or maybe 3) years if you have a clean record. I think it only applies to a 1 point offence.

You need to write in requesting a review of the offence in view of a previous clean record.

I do not know whether it would apply in your case but could be worth a try

[Sam]

You can out of a speeding fine by writing a letter reminding them you've been a good boy in the past 3 years. ie no other speeding fines during that period. Dont know how you'll fare on yours though.......

Good luck !

[rrobor]

Yes you can quote your good record tell them you do realise you were a silly boy and it will not happen again. But that is for an automatic fine IE camera etc, If you were done by a Mr Plod then sorry that is fixed, only way is to take it to court , and that would be a silly thing to do.

[TP1]

HMMM. It is a pity to get an infringement after all these years but you still have a great record. If it was a fair call by the police, why fight it?

I have nearly lost my licence through accumulation of points until I discovered a device that accurately determines who is really at fault - a mirror.

[Grumpy John]

I can't understand people using mobile phones while driving. What is so important that you can't pull over to answer a phone call. Just about every moblie phone sold in the last 5 years comes with some sort of hands free device, use it and you won't get busted. I paid $80 and got a bluetooth unit that attaches to the sun visor. My phone has voice call and auto answer so I don't have to touch the phone and I'm not fumbling around trying to answer any calls. I don't see the need to make calls whilst I'm driving.

[Woodwould]

There's no excuse for the infringment, especially in light of the recent blanket advertising of the upcoming law revisions and the wealth of cheap Bluetooth devices flooding the market. Just cop the fine and learn from it.

Some of the rearview miror type Bluetooth devices even have an in-built reversing camera.

[Sturdee]

For a speeding offence you are allowed a let-off every 2 (or maybe 3) years if you have a clean record. I think it only applies to a 1 point offence.



Only applies to minor speeding offences from cameras and only if they have no record of you being booked since the speeding cameras were introduced.

Does not apply to offences being caught by a police officer, the only way out of it is to fight it in court.


Peter.

[kiwigeo]

I was just caught driving while using a mobile phone. Silly I know, I get off at other people doing it when they're all over the road.
I haven't been booked for 10-15 years is it possible to get off by saying sorry but I have been a good boy in the past?

Not silly...dangerous. The one time you did it could have been the one time you sailed through an intersection and collected another motorist.

[China]

Get yourself a lawer who is experienced in these matters, it will cost you appr. $5,000 but you will get off, or have a look here www.aussiespeedingfines.com (http://www.aussiespeedingfines.com/)

[artme]

I really have no sympathy for you at all . you know the law, you know its wrong and dangerous to do it so just cop it and don't be so bloody inconsiderately dangerous in future.

[kiwigeo]

Get yourself a lawer who is experienced in these matters, it will cost you appr. $5,000 but you will get off, or have a look here www.aussiespeedingfines.com (http://www.aussiespeedingfines.com/)


Pay a parasite lawyer $5000 to get off a charge that will leave you with a fine of way less than $5000 ($1134 is the figure I believe) and no criminal record? ROFL!

[AlexS]

Do the crime, do the time or pay the fine.

[Calm]

I was just caught driving while using a mobile phone. Silly I know, I get off at other people doing it when they're all over the road.
I haven't been booked for 10-15 years is it possible to get off by saying sorry but I have been a good boy in the past? I saw an add for 60 miniutes a few years back I think, that said some solicitor was getting many people off camera speeding fines that had good driving records by writing in. Is it possible? Was in rubbish? I'm in Victoria.

You dont say it was the first time you ever did this so i guess it was only the first time you got caught.

Dont be such a sook and pay up - you did the crime now pay - remember the 3 points you just lost all add up over 3 years.

Welcome to the real world.

Cheers

[glenn k]

Looks like I've done $234 and gained 3 demerit points. If I was the copper I would have booked me too. I obviously wasn't being as observant as I should have been other wise I would have seen him.

[munruben]

Sorry, but I don't feel sorry for you, You broke the law regardless of whether we think the law is just or not is beside the point. I see so many drivers on the roads today disregarding the road rules it reall annoys me. I try to do the right thing, sticking to the speed limits for instance and I invariably get some cranky, impataient driver behind me, honking on his horn for me to speed up.
I have been driving since I was 17 in various countries over the last 52 years and I have never had a traffic infringement. Maybe doing the right thing does pay off.
Pay the fine, what gives you the privilage of being outside the law. Just my two bobs worth.
Hope I don't sound disrespectful because I don't mean to be. It just annoys me that so many people break the road rules and then look for excuses to flaunt the law.

[John Saxton]

Like the above posts said "pay the fine" .


The laws in place so that anyone using a phone whilst driving is penalised to remind them of the inherent dangers of doing so.


I dont care that you've been a good boy in the past,those people can still have cause accidents by the apathy that can come with the comfort of being a good boy.


Cop it sweet just as you would have to if you ran into/over someone whilst being in attentive with driving.

Cheers:)

[Woodwould]

I obviously wasn't being as observant as I should have been other wise I would have seen him.

:o You're missing the point; it's not about spotting the cops before they book you, you broke the law and could have killed someone!

[BobL]

Looks like I've done $234 and gained 3 demerit points. If I was the copper I would have booked me too. I obviously wasn't being as observant as I should have been other wise I would have seen him.

That's what the copper said to me when I was pinged for doing 53 in a 40 zone. 38 years with out any tickets and rubbing my son's nose in it (he's been pinged about a dozen times in about 8 years). I had just been out buying wood working gear and managed to wrangle the price down by $150 below RRP and was on my way home daydreaming bout what a good deal I had wrangled!

[glenn k]

:o You're missing the point; it's not about spotting the cops before they book you, you broke the law and could have killed someone!

I think you missed the point I said "I obviously wasn't being as observant as I should have been" while driving that is

[Woodwould]

I think you missed the point I said "I obviously wasn't being as observant as I should have been" while driving that is

There's an art in recognising when to lay the shovel down.

[BobL]

I think he's admitted his mistake.

Re Shovel
There's an art in recognising when to stop beating people over the head with it too. :rolleyes:

[kiwigeo]

I obviously wasn't being as observant as I should have been other wise I would have seen him.

Youve just proved to yourself why driving while using a mobile phone is so dangerous. The cop you didnt see could have been the car full of kids you failed to give way to at an intersection.

[Woodwould]

Re Shovel
There's an art in recognising when to stop beating people over the head with it too. :rolleyes:
I haven't come across that one before. Is there a precedence where lives are concerned, or maybe there's a course I should attend?

[martrix]

If its under 10km hr and you have a very good driving record, there is definitely an opportunity to have the fine reduced to a warning. Bit different, but I got off a big fine. http://www.woodworkforums.com/f43/untimely-infringement-fine-18189/


I got a discounted fee for renewing my 10 year license for being a good driver. Ive had 2 fines in the last 3 months now.:(( Rubbish, all of them under 10k......nothing but revenue raising.

[Jim Carroll]

As a policeman freind of ours said even he has been known to flout the law but if you look at how many times you actually do it for the amount of times you get caught it works out to be very minimal.

Just think to your self how many times you have driven over the speed limit or over the alcohol limit or used the mobile phone and not pulled over, it can work out to be big numbers over the year.

But it is just once that you wander because of any of the above reasons that can kill or maim somebody else.

I am not preaching here as I am just as much to blame for all of the above reasons and lost points and a licence.

Suck it up you did the wrong thing and openly admited it, just think before doing it again.

[Christopha]

You broke the law, you endangered other road users, you are an idiot! Pay the fine!!!

I did this 4 years ago, I broke the law, I endangered other road users, I was an idiot. I paid the fine.

LEARN THE LESSON! I did.

[kiwigeo]

Ive had 2 fines in the last 3 months now.:(( Rubbish, all of them under 10k......nothing but revenue raising.

So how much over the speed limit is ok? Setting a margin to allow for inaccuracies in speed measuring equipment is the only justifiable reason for letting someone exceed the speed limit by any amount.

Slightly off topic but the fine approach to speeding doesnt seem to really work. Driver education and an attitude amongst many drivers that driving is a God given right that comes without responsibilities are two issues that need addressing.

[weisyboy]

I think he's admitted his mistake.

Re Shovel
There's an art in recognising when to stop beating people over the head with it too. :rolleyes:

when they stop moving.:U

[Sturdee]

Slightly off topic but the fine approach to speeding doesnt seem to really work.

That's only because the fines imposed are way too lenient. IMO the fines ought to be increased with compulsory attendance at a road trauma emergency ward for one evening for the first offence, 2 nights for the second etc. Once you spend some time there your attitude to driving will change.

May be also needed for mobile phone users.


Peter.

[johnc]

I've done the sorry thing and been let off, but it was 55k in a 50k zone, with no sign at one end between two 60k intersections, and one section of that road was 60k. The waiver also came with the note that driving record was the main reason and an implication that a better understanding of the speed zone rules would have saved some bother on my part.

By all means try but in view of the advertising blitz I can't thing of a single mitigating excuse in your favour, if it was me I'd just pay the fine. However posting here may well mean a few may think twice before answering their phone whilst behind the wheel.

[China]

Speeding does not cause collisions, we are one of the only country's in the would that set speed limits with no regard to traffic flow, speed limits it this country have nothing to do with safety, they are purely revenue raising, as can be seen by the placement of the highly inacurate and untested devices and the revenue raised is forcast in budgets. Open your eyes and do your reserch, if the subjects of this country were doing this we would be charged with fraud

[kiwigeo]

It would be great if drivers could drive at a speed approriate to conditions.....unfortunately this is usually not a part of the limited skill set of the average driver in this country.

Attention to attitudes and driver education are the only effective ways we'll see a reduction in the road toll.

[johnc]

Speeding does not cause collisions, we are one of the only country's in the would that set speed limits with no regard to traffic flow, speed limits it this country have nothing to do with safety, they are purely revenue raising, as can be seen by the placement of the highly inacurate and untested devices and the revenue raised is forcast in budgets. Open your eyes and do your reserch, if the subjects of this country were doing this we would be charged with fraud

You could look at speeding fines as an optional tax, you only pay if you choose to speed. Budgeted fine collections are based on a measured calculation of our collective stupidity. There is plenty of information linking speed to collisions, when Victoria dropped its town speed limits to 50kph on most streets there was a drop in collisions. Its a bit of a no brainer that the slower we go the less likely we are going to hit anything that will seriously damage the occupants of a vehicle, and the more time we have to react. I'm not advocating dropping limits further but I do think speed limits are based on traffic volumes and road conditions in a way we hopefully understand.

[kiwigeo]

I'd like to see a move back to the good old days when cars moved at walking pace and had to be preceeded by a person waving a red flag. :D

[hughie]

Speeding does not cause collisions, we are one of the only country's in the would that set speed limits with no regard to traffic flow, speed limits it this country have nothing to do with safety, they are purely revenue raising, as can be seen by the placement of the highly inacurate and untested devices and the revenue raised is forcast in budgets. Open your eyes and do your reserch, if the subjects of this country were doing this we would be charged with fraud[/QUOTE]


I agree totally, you might remember that a few years ago you would only get booked if you ran 10k over the speed limit ( NSW ). It was un-official but it worked, with that in mind we drove at just over but not more than 10k so the revenue dropped, guess what happened?

Yep they dropped the 10k thing as "it was too dangerous" and now we have a couple of k's grace.

High fines will kill the goose that lays the golden egg :U

[Sturdee]

High fines will kill the goose that lays the golden egg :U


That's just the point of the fines, we want everyone to obey the road laws so the roads will be safer, not only for the drivers but also the pedestrians.

If you don't like the speed limits then agitate politically for a change, don't break the law.

Peter.

[damian]

I've been booked at least 3 times for speeding when I know for certain I wasn't over the limit. There were a couple of other occasions when I very much suspect I was under. I even had my speedo checked and calibrated to be sure.

If you can be bothered go to qld transports website and the bureau of statistics. Get the numbers going back to say 1980. Divide the number of fatalities by licenced drivers to get the fatality rate (because the raw number makes this trend look even worse). Then plot out that data by year and get ready to catch your jaw as it drops. The trend even shocked me. There was an exponential decline in the road fatalities rate until 1997, then it rose slightly and plateued. That was the year the government introduced speed camera into queensland and launched thier anti speeding campain.

If you can be bothered doing some proper research you will find that all the _credible_ evidence in Australia, plus nearly all the research done throughout the OECD, show that "excessive speed is a signifigant contributing factor" in between 5 and 6% or all investigated crashes, crashes involving injuries and death. The figure is remarkably consistent. Inattention is a isgnifigant contributing factor in a multiple of that number.

I ahve long held teh view that to make our roads safer we need to do 3 things, neither of which a state government would do:

1. Tie all fuel excise to either pollution mitigation or roads.

2. Tie wage increases and indeed jobs among traffic and road design engineers to outcomes.

3. Adjust the traffic act so the points system stays, but rather than paying a fine you have to attend within a set period an approved course by an approved provider and pay a fee for same equivalent to the fine. You nullify the revenue argument, you add inconvenience to the penalty, you compell wayward drivers to take training without penalising drivers who may not need it.

No doubt someone will point out the errors of my thinking :)

[rrobor]

The arguement that speed doesnt kill is false, the faster you drive the worse your accident will be, that is simple physics. If the speed limit is 60 and you grant 10% it creates a normal speed zone of 66 not 60. so why not have it at 66 full stop. The error allowance was for mechanical tolerances not some form of exceess nod and wink stuff. People complain when they get caught, "Im a good driver, look at him" . Well sorry the law is the law. Watch TV tonight see the idiots of Melbourne give their excuses. Sure Ive been done, and once I was incorrectly done by a young cop getting numbers. But that was once, the rest were my fault.

[China]

rrobor, you need to do some further reaserch

[glenn k]

Well rrobor I'd say you were lucky. When I was young I was booked many times for speeding while not speeding(always at the end of the month). Once I was followed from Carlton to North Coburg and eventually they pulled me up and said I was doing 80 kph I said no I wasn't I'd be stupid to be speeding seeing you've been following me since Carlton. They seemed surprised seeing they all ways stopped 3 or 4 cars behind me at lights. He then only booked be for the lowest but I was told to pay it as there were 2 of them and 1 of me. I stopped driving after the 28th of the month and then I was told my problem by my girl friend I used to look at them nerviously expecting to be booked for nothing. After that I ignored them and they go away and pick on somebody else. Since then only been booked twice in the next 25 years both being my fault.

[Gingermick]

2. Tie wage increases and indeed jobs among traffic and road design engineers to outcomes
No doubt someone will point out the errors of my thinking :)

As a road designer I don't think I should be held responsible for people driving inappropriately. All we can do is follow the rules set by the state traffic authority and any other relevant standards.
Safety is a large concern for us. We don't want people dying on roads or anything else we designed.

[TP1]

As a road designer I don't think I should be held responsible for people driving inappropriately. All we can do is follow the rules set by the state traffic authority and any other relevant standards.
Safety is a large concern for us. We don't want people dying on roads or anything else we designed.


Well said. In WA, a high percentage of smashes resulting in trauma involve a single vehicle on country roads, often on straight stretches. None of them were driving slow at the time.

[kiwigeo]

3. Adjust the traffic act so the points system stays, but rather than paying a fine you have to attend within a set period an approved course by an approved provider and pay a fee for same equivalent to the fine. You nullify the revenue argument, you add inconvenience to the penalty, you compell wayward drivers to take training without penalising drivers who may not need it.

No doubt someone will point out the errors of my thinking :)

Yes Ill start. Driver training should happen BEFORE you get into a car not after youve had your first accident.

Driver attitude also needs to be addressed....to some degree this comes under education but to a larger degree you can look at parenting and changes in what society views as acceptable/unacceptable behaviour. Don't know how you'd deal with the latter....

[rrobor]

I would be interested China as to what research. I was a pro driver I did about 350km a day in city traffic for 24 years, On average I got some infringement notice every second year and I had 5 accidents, 2 my fault.

[Gingermick]

Don't know how you'd deal with the latter....

totalitarianism :oo: