Speeding Offences in Victoria
Have you received a speeding ticket or been charged with a speeding offence in Victoria? Read on to understand your options and the next steps to take.
Traffic Infringement Notice
If you have received a Traffic Infringement Notice (or speeding ticket), the notice will set out the alleged offence, the fine amount, and your options for dealing with the fine.
For some speeding offences, you may be provided the option to contest the matter at court, and you can elect to do this by completing the relevant section on the penalty notice.
Before electing to go to court, you should obtain legal advice, as you may find that you are subject to mandatory penalties that the court cannot change.
Contact Loftgood Legal for a confidential discussion on your options.
Going to Court
If you elect to take a speeding ticket to court, or are directly charged and summonsed to court, you can choose to plead guilty or not guilty to the alleged offence.
Not guilty plea
If you choose to plead not guilty, you will need a defence. The law assumes that speed detection equipment is accurate.
Valid Defences
You could have a valid defence in certain circumstances, such as:
- Involuntary action: An action that the driver could not control due to a medical emergency, such as having a seizure
- Emergency situation: In exceptional circumstances only to address a critical situation, such as someone in the car having a life-threatening medical emergency
- Speed detection equipment fault: It may be a defence if it can be established that the speed detection device was faulty. This is not as simple as it sounds – expert evidence would be required to prove a fault which is often expensive to obtain
Invalid Defences
The following are examples of invalid defences that the court will not recognise:
- A faulty speedometer
- Being late for work or any other event
- Not knowing the speed limit due to a missing sign
- Not realising the speed limit in the area changed and you were driving to the old speed limit
Penalties for speeding
Speeding can come with a variety of penalties such as fines, demerit points, and licence loss.
Licence loss
Some speeding offences carry a mandatory minimum licence suspension period. These minimum periods before are set out in Schedule 5 of the Road Safety Act 1986.
- 3 months if your speed was between 25 km/hour and 35 km/hour over the speed limit
- 6 months if your speed was between 35 km/hour and 45 km/hour over the speed limit
- 12 months if your speed was 45 km/hour or more over the speed limit
- 3 months if driving 130 km/hour or more regardless of speed zone.
Whether you received an infringement notice or attend court, these suspension periods are the mandatory minimum.
A Magistrate cannot suspend you for less than the mandatory minimum, however they can suspend you for longer.
This is why it is important to seek legal advice before electing to take a matter to court, as a Magistrate cannot reduce a licence suspension, but may end up increasing the penalty you receive instead.
There are no special licences (for example work licences) in Victoria that allow you to drive on a suspended licence.
If you drive on a suspended licence, you may be charged with an offence and face serious penalties which can include jail time.
Demerit points
You may receive demerit points for speeding offences that are not excessive speed offences.
Demerit points are controlled by VicRoads, not the Court. If you elect to go to Court to challenge a speeding ticket and are found, or plead, guilty of a demerit point offence, a Magistrate cannot waive the demerit points or change how many points you receive.
Speeding fines
The maximum fine is determined by how fast over the limit you were going:
- 10 penalty units for driving less than 35 km/hour over the speed limit
- 15 penalty units for driving at 35 km/hour or more but less than 45 km/hour over the speed limit
- 20 penalty units for driving 45 km/hour or more over the speed limit.
Most people do not receive the maximum penalty.
Other penalties
In addition to the above penalties, the Court may also impose other penalties depending on the severity of the offence. This can include:
- Adjourned Undertaking (good behaviour bond)
- Vehicle impoundment
- Jail time or Community Correction Orders for more serious offending such as driving at dangerous speeds or evading Police
Loftgood Legal can help
Exceeding the speed limit can have significant consequences both legally and financially. At Loftgood Legal, we are experienced at dealing with speeding offences and can advise and assist you in achieving the best possible outcome.
