This depends on the seriousness of your traffic offence. If you have received a Court Appearance Notice (CAN), then you will have to go to the Local Court. If you are unsure, just contact us and we can check for you. We can also appear with you, to ensure your legal rights are protected.

If your car or motorcycle was involved in any of the following offences, then the police do have grounds to either impound your vehicle or confiscate your number plates and attach a ‘number-plate confiscation notice’ and/or send you a ‘production notice’ requiring that you take the car to an impound or hand in your number plates.
These are the sanctionable offences which they can perform the above:
• some drink driving offences
• street racing
• burnouts
• a police pursuit
• speeding by more than 45 km/h (does not include camera detected offences)
• speeding by more than 30 km/h if you are a disqualified driver (does not include camera detected offences).
The police can also take away your vehicle if you were convicted of drink driving in the last 5 years and now, caught with:

• mid-range Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol (a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more but less than 0.15)
• high-range Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol (a blood concentration of more than 0.15)
• refusing to give a breath test or failing to provide a blood sample, when requesting by police.

No. If this has happened to you contact us immediately. The police can only impound or take the number plates of the car you are driving if you are the registered owner of the car.
They may however send you a warning notice, and if your vehicle is involved in sanctionable offences in the next 5 years, the registration will be suspended for up to 3 months.
If you have received a warning letter, contact us to look into a resolution especially if you had no involvement in the incident.

Yes. We can help you put an application to the Court showing that you need to use the vehicle. The Court in turn will consider the following:
• whether it is reasonably likely that the vehicle will be used to commit sanctionable offences again, or
• any extreme hardship caused to someone other than the registered owner because the vehicle or number plates have been taken away.
See also: Service NSW – Vehicle sanctions.

We understand how easy it is to make a mistake. To take your eye off the road for even just a few seconds and suddenly, you made an error that could lose you your licence. Maybe it was a lapse in judgement? Or maybe it was just a split-second loss of concentration? It may even be a case of oops, you had too much to drink and now the damage has been done.
No matter the reason or cause, seek legal advice before doing anything else. See exactly what your options are before making any decisions and allow an expert to help you with your case.
You will need to contact a criminal lawyer to help you with your legal issues as criminal law is the jurisdiction that your offence falls under. Specifically, you will need to find a traffic lawyer who deals with traffic law on a daily basis.

Majority of driving related offences are dealt with in the Magistrates (Local) Court or depending on your state, the district court. You will need to attend court in person to have your matter dealt with and to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty in relation to the offence.
Before you do anything, you should seek legal advice.

Drink driving is a dangerous offence and it is viewed very seriously by the court. If you choose to operate a motor vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol, you are viewed to not only be putting your own life in danger but also be putting the lives of those around you in danger as well.
But we know the situation is not always black and white and that is the beauty of the Australian legal system. People’s individual circumstances are taken into account when determining these types of matters and you will have the chance to bring your case before the court and present your defense.
Maybe you had a reason for getting behind the wheel while under the influence. Perhaps there was a medical emergency that required immediate attention. Perhaps you had been drinking but had also contracted either heat stroke or food poisoning and this had simply exacerbated your symptoms. There is always the possibility that you had a lapse in judgement and thought you would be still under the limit of 0.05.
Perhaps there is even a chance you knew you were over the limit and you chose to get behind the wheel anyway. Whatever the reason, we are here to help, not to judge.
Start here: High‑Range Drink Driving – case study and Transport for NSW – Drink driving penalties.

At the time of being charged with an offence, you would have been provided with a piece of paper referred to as a summons. This sheet will detail the charge, the particulars of the charge and the date and time the offence occurred. A date and time will also be provided for when the matter will be before the court.
When you appear in court, you will enter a plea of either;
1. Guilty; or
2. Not guilty.
If you enter a plea of guilty then you are admitting that you have committed the offence and that you are taking responsibility for your actions. You will then be sentenced or the offence. In the event you plead guilty to your offence, it will be looked upon favourably by the court because you are not only saving court resources such as time and money but you are being honest.
If you enter a plea of not guilty, then you are rejecting that you have committed the offence and a hearing will be set so that you can present your defence. Unless your guilt can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty of your offence.

If this is your first offence then you may be fortunate enough to receive a lighter sentence, however, it is never a guarantee. As a first time offender, you are usually afforded some leniency for your past good behaviour.
In the event that this is a subsequent offence for you, your odds are not as good. A subsequent offence describes an offence which you have previously committed (i.e. drink driving). Usually, if you have committed subsequent offences then you will be held to a harsher standard of sentencing because you have failed to learn from your mistakes previously.

1. Disqualification
Your licence can be disqualified/suspended if you commit a traffic offence for various lengths of time. Depending on what offence you commit will depend on what period of disqualification you are given. This period can be anywhere from a few months to a few years in length and can differ between states. If in doubt, contact a lawyer to see what period you might be facing. There are a range of factors which may be taken into account including;
• How many times you have previously been convicted of a traffic offence;
• What type of offence/s you have committed (i.e. speeding, drink driving, etc.);
• If you were convicted of speeding, how far over the limit were you?;
• If it was a drink driving offence, how far over the legal limit were you?;
• Were your a Learner or provisional driver at the time of the offence? Etc

2. Loss of Demerit Points
In some instances, you may just lose a portion of your demerit points as punishment for your offence. This is a common punishment for those who are convicted of either speeding, low range drink driving, etc. A fully licenced driver has 12 demerit points available to them. If they lose these 12 points then they automatically have their licence disqualified.
Please note: If you are a learner driver or provisional driver, you are only able to accrue 4 demerit points within a 12 month period. If you accrue more than 4 points then your licence will automatically be suspended for a period of 3 months.

Learn more: Transport for NSW – Demerit points and Roads & Waterways – Demerits.

3. Restricted Licence
In certain circumstances, it may be possible to get a restricted licence if you are looking at a period of licence disqualification. These types of licences are only awarded in very limited circumstances and it is essential to prove a specific need for one in order for one to be granted. A restricted licence may be granted in circumstances where;
• You will be unable to complete your work duties and will otherwise have your employment terminated;
• You are unable to adequately transport your children to and from school or other necessary appointment/activities;
• Other people such as elderly parents, children are reliant on your licence; etc
In order to obtain a restricted licence, you need to not only be able to prove your specialized need for one but you also need to undertake a liver function test. This test will demonstrate to the court whether your liver identifies a drinking problem, or a continuous abuse of alcohol. In the event it does, the court may not be satisfied that if they provided you with a restricted licence, that you would not drink and drive. If the liver function test returns a normal result which suggests irregular or insignificant alcohol use, then it is possible the court might grant you a restricted licence because they are satisfied there is a less likely chance you will abuse the privilege.
Bear in mind, a restricted licence only allows for driving in limited circumstances, i.e. during work hours. If you are caught driving outside these circumstances then you will both have your licence revoked, and be charged and re-sentenced.

Hypothetical Scenario
Jack is charged with high range drink driving. It is his second offence but there has been a ten year gap in between charges. For this most recent offence, Jack was caught with a blood alcohol level of 0.125 which travelling down a main road. This is a serious offence because not only was Jack almost 3 times over the legal limit but he was traveling down a public road at 6:00pm on a Friday night. This is a high traffic time of day and there are both adults and children around at this time.
The following factors would be considered in Jack’s situation:
1. That he has a prior conviction for the same offence;
2. That he was driving in a high traffic area and endangered the lives of adults and children;
3. That he had the option not to drive but chose to anyway.
Possible Outcome: Jack is likely to be eligible for a suspended licence due to the nature of his offence but may be able to apply for a restricted licence. Jack is a single father who works as a delivery driver to provide for his family.
1. Jack is not a regular drinker and would likely return a healthy liver function result;
2. Jack requires his licence to continue working and to take his children to school.
If Jack loses his driver’s licence he will be unable to provide for his family and will also be terminated from his employment.

In most circumstances, you may be able to given a period of licence suspension rather than a full loss of your licence. This means that for a period of 3, 6, 12, etc, months, you will be unable to drive, however, once that period has passed, you will have your licence reinstated and you can continue driving.

In most circumstances, you may be able to given a period of licence suspension rather than a full loss of your licence. This means that for a period of 3, 6, 12, etc, months, you will be unable to drive, however, once that period has passed, you will have your licence reinstated and you can continue driving.

Hypothetical Scenario
Leticia is out with friends having lunch when she realizes she needs to pick her children up from school. She had been having so much fun that she lost track of time and now she is going to be late to collect them. Leaving the restaurant, Leticia decides to take a few back streets to avoid the busy main roads and doesn’t think it will be as noticeable if she exceeds the speed limit a little so she can make it in time. As Leticia is rounding a corner, a police car is coming down the other side of the street. They catch Leticia doing 85 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. This is the second time Leticia has been caught for speeding in a two week period. The first time she was issued with a warning but she cannot be issued with another one yet.

When Leticia came around the corner, she happened to glance down at her phone and notice a text from her friend but she couldn’t properly read it from where it was in the passenger seat. Leticia picked up her phone to look at it and this was noticed by police as well.

Leticia has now been charged with once count of speeding and one count of dangerous driving. To make matters worse for Leticia when she rounded the corner she had entered the street directly next to the school zone so there were children and parents crossing the road at the time. With the speed Leticia was driving, someone could have been seriously injured.

Leticia had her licence suspended for a period of 6 months by way of court order.

See related: Negligent & Dangerous Driving and Speeding Offences.

There are some traffic offences which will not result in a court ordered sentence for the offence. In some instances, infringement notices are given by the police on the spot upon committing a traffic infringement and you merely need to pay the fine and continue with your day. This can quite often coincide with the loss of demerit points.

Hypothetical Scenario

Mandy is running late for a doctor’s appointment because she struggled to get out of work on time. She is racing down the street, not realizing that she has entered a 60 km/h zone. A police officer turns into the street behind her and sees her speeding. He pulls her over and issues her with a fine.

Mandy was caught doing 70km/h on the 60km/h zone. She was issued with both a fine and a loss of demerit points. The type of fine or penalty that you will receive is specific to the state you live in and will be subject to the specification of the Road Safety Act of that state, be it, NSW, Victoria, etc.

It is always important to remember that at high peak time of the year, i.e. Christmas, New Year, Easter and long weekends, there is an increase in the penalty for traffic infringements. Double demerit points and increased fines could be the difference between losing or keeping your licence in these instances.

It is considered a serious offence to drive a vehicle without a valid licence or a licence at all. As an unlicensed driver you will be considered to have broken more than one law and this is a serious offence for the following reasons.
1. If you did not hold a licence it was because you had either not passed the test or you had lost your licence for a traffic offence;
2. If you drive as an unlicensed driver then you are putting the lives of those around you in danger; and
3. If you are caught driving as an unlicensed driver with other people in the car then not only did you put your own life in danger but you put other people’s lives in danger as well.
These are only some of the factors which may be considered by the court but as you can see they are serious in nature.

Talk to a lawyer: Traffic Lawyer Sydney – Jameson Law or see our locations.