Published 11 Dec 2011
Case Study - Low Range PCA - Drive whilst suspended (fine default) - Local Court - Plea of guilty - subjective circumstances – section 10 – low range drink driving – suspended driving – traffic offender program – local court penalties – traffic offence
Nyman Gibson Stewart Criminal Defence Lawyers – Sydney and Parramatta
Downing Centre Local Court
Represented by solicitor: Carol Younes
Facts: Our client was stopped while driving for the purpose of a random breath test, which returned a positive result of 0.073 grams of alcohol per 210 litres of breath. Police also conducted a check on our client’s driver’s licence, which revealed that his licence was suspended due to his failure to pay fines. He was consequently charged with two offences:
1. Driving with the Low Range Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol (PCA), in breach of section 9(2)(a) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act, and
2. Driving whilst his licence was suspended, in breach of section 25A(3A)(a)(i) of the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act.
Our client pleaded guilty to both charges, and the matter was adjourned for sentence at the Downing Centre Local Court to allow him time to complete the Traffic Offenders Intervention Program.
Result: The Low Range PCA offence carries a maximum penalty of a $1,100 fine, automatic 6 month disqualification and minimum 3 month disqualification. The drive whilst suspended offence is a $3,300 fine and/or 18 months imprisonment and 3 months disqualification (since it was following default). In light of the submissions made by Ms Younes the magistrate accepted that a more lenient sentence was required in the circumstances. The charges were discharged under section 10(1)(b) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act. Therefore he did not lose his licence and no conviction was recorded. This was an excellent result for our client, especially in light of his lengthy traffic record.
Carol Younes is based at our Parramatta Office.