OUR SENIOR CRIMINAL LAWYER TAKES HIS SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Today justice was seen and done where our Senior Criminal Defence Lawyer, Mr Daniel Wilson persuaded a Local Court Magistrate that a Section 10 was appropriate. Section 10 is when strong submissions are made by your Sydney traffic lawyer for the offence of speeding to be reduced such that no conviction should be recorded . This would mean that our client should have the benefit of keeping their points and avoiding any disqualification period.

THE CASE

Our client, a truck driver, who drives every day for several hours a day in between states was caught doing 135km/hr in a 100 km/hour zone. He has his license immediately suspended by Police. He was particularly concerned that the mandatory suspension that would ordinarily apply to him would mean he would not have a job and as such not be able to put food on the table. But he did the wrong thing. The Magistrate pointed out that he did the wrong thing and should be punished adequately.

The Centre for Road Safety NSW shows that “speeding remains the leading behavioural factor in death and injuries on our roads, contributing to about 40 per cent of road fatalities”

In particular statistics from speed-related crashes from 2013 to 2017 reads as follows:

  • About 740 people were killed due to speeding;
  • More than 19,000 people were injured; and
  • About 1500 people were seriously injured each year (average for 2012 to 2016 only).

Suffice to say the faster drivers go the bigger the demerit loss and fine and the bigger the damage they can do with their vehicle. This is because it takes so much longer to come to a full stop.

“Total distance to come to a full stop with a reaction time of 1 second and a braking deceleration of 7 meters per second”.

 

Speed Reaction Braking Total distance
30 kph 8.3 m 5 m 13.3m
35 kph 9.7 m 6.8 m 16.5m
40 kph 11.1 m 8.8 m 19.9m
50 kph 13.9 m 13.8 m 27.7m
55 kph 15.3 m 16.7 m 32 m
60 kph 16.7 m 19.8 m 36.5 m

As can be seen from the above table –  in an emergency stop at 30 kph a car will have already stopped at the place where a driver at a speed of 50 kph only starts to brake! For a child on the road that can mean the difference between life and death.

THE LAW  

The law in relation to Speeding is found under the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW) (“The Act”) and the Road Rules 2014 (NSW).

Speeding is usually charged by way of infringement/penalty notices.

Penalties for Speeding in NSW for full license holders (excluding School Zones) are as follows;

Exceed speed limit by:

  • Not more than 10 km/h will see you lose 1 demerit point and be subjected to a fine of $119;
  • For more than 10 km/h but not more than 20 km/h will see you lose 3 demerit points and be subjected to a fine of $275;
  • For more than 20 km/h but not more than 30 km/h you will lose 4 demerit point and be subjected to a fine $472;
  • For more than 30 km/h but not more than 45 km/h you will lose 5 demerit points and be subjected to a  fine of $903 AND 3 months (minimum suspension of licence);
  • For more than 45 km/h you will lose 6 demerit points and be subjected to a  fine of $2435 AND 6 months (minimum suspension of licence);

 

If police catch you speeding by more than 45km/h over the limit you may have your licence immediately suspended and confiscated at the roadside for 6 months.

WHAT SUBMISSIONS WERE MADE TO THE COURT?

Mr Wilson argued that having regard to our clients clean record he should deserve another chance. He relied on superior Court cases which affirms the position that the Court should allow leniency in certain circumstances. This was a case where leniency should be given.

Mr Wilson also submitted that the offence was out of character and he relied on evidence of rehabilitation including undertaking the traffic offenders program. He specifically argued that:

“It has been held that the dismissal of charges against first offenders in certain circumstances is appropriate. This power reflects the willingness of the legislature and the community to provide first offenders, in certain circumstances, a second chance to maintain a reputation of good character”: R v Nguyen [2002] NSWCCA 183 at [50]

 

CAUGHT SPEEDING AND WANT TO CONTEST THE PENALTY NOTICE?

National Criminal Lawyers only employ the best Criminal Lawyers Sydney has to offer. Moreover, we have been successful in having numerous penalty notices dealt with by way of no recording of a conviction.

HOW TO GET A NON-RECORDING OF A CONVICTION?

For a lot of people, Speeding offences are the first time before the criminal justice system and there are many people first time charged that have no idea of what is likely to occur at court.

Where matters are dealt with by way of non-recording of a conviction this means licences are kept, fines are nullified and suspension periods are not applied. For more information click here.

Our Senior Criminal Lawyers represents clients often at first appearance in the Local Court for Speeding. We have had proven track record success for achieving non-convictions for many clients.

In such matters we are the best Sydney Criminal Lawyers for high quality preparation work (including obtaining references, a letter of apology and preparing submissions are done in such a way to ensure the best chances of having matters finalised at the first appearance by way of a non-recording of a conviction).

At sentencing hearings our expert criminal lawyers often submit to Magistrates persuading them that it would be inexpedient to record a conviction in these particular circumstances. Our success rates in this regard are second to none.

If you have been charged with any driving related offence, Our Team at National Criminal Lawyers are well versed and specialists in having these charges either withdrawn or achieving favourable outcomes. We also guarantee for every client, however small or big your matter is, you will be represented with a Senior Criminal Lawyer.

 

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