The price you don’t have to pay

If you get caught doing something dodgy on the roads, then you’re going to pay a price.

The good news is that it’s not inevitable that you’ll get a fine for a traffic offence.

With a bit of attention, you can avoid being slugged with a fine or even paying the ultimate price – losing your licence.

The bottom line is clear – do the right thing, and you won’t ever have to worry about how you’re going to pay a fine or manage without your precious licence.

More ways to get caught

There are lots of ways you can get caught if you decide to commit an offence on the road.

For a start, the Police regularly patrol the roads to look out for dangerous drivers. The Police also analyse crash and other traffic information to work out where offences are being committed. They know the likely spots.

Then there is new technology including speed cameras and red light cameras.

There’s really no reason why you should get caught speeding by a fixed speed camera – these never move and warning signs tell you they’re approaching. But be aware that there are also mobile cameras and police patrols who can also detect speeding.

Other offences are also being picked up by technology. For instance, cameras monitor some bus lanes to make sure ordinary motorists aren’t clogging up the lanes and causing problems for public transport.

The more you’re caught, the more it hurts

You should get the message the first time.

But if you don’t, the penalties get heavier for second or subsequent offences. There are tough penalties out there for stuff like speeding, drink-driving, unlicensed driving and other serious driving offences.

Penalties include fines, demerit points and even on-the-spot licence suspensions for some offences.

The more you offend, the more painful it’s going to be.

Demerit points

The Demerit Points Scheme is a national program which basically involves drivers scoring penalty points – or demerits – for driving offences.

It’s there to provide an incentive for drivers to stop offending and to drive safely and responsibly.
If you ‘score’ a certain amount of points over a certain amount of time, then your licence will be suspended or you won’t be able to renew it.

If you’re on your Ps, you have fewer points to play with.

On your P2 licence you’ll lose your licence after getting seven demerit points and on your P1 licence it’s four points.

Sometimes demerit points are doubled, which can really hurt if you’ve already racked up a collection of demerits. During all holiday periods, such as long weekends, Christmas, New Year and Easter, you’ll cop twice as many points as usual for speeding, failing to wear a seatbelt or not using a motorcycle helmet.

For provisional licence holders who bust the demerit limit, your licence will be suspended for three months.

No appeal
You can’t appeal against the suspension or refusal of an unrestricted licence on the grounds of demerit points.

Full list of penalties
Click here to see a list of all the current penalties for driving offences.

You can check the demerit points currently on your driver licence or request a copy of your driving record at myRTA.com.