2 x speeding fines in Oz - advice please!

tomtontom

*pinkchick* wrote: »

But then how would they know how the law relates to a UK citizen? I thought it better to ask Brits who may have had this happen to them, rather than Australians who only know what happen to Australian citizens

Unless you have diplomatic immunity the law will apply to you in the same way it would apply to an Aus citizen.

Is there a reason you don't want to pay the fine?

Ballard

*pinkchick* wrote: »

1. I didn't endanger any lives
2. I'd much prefer a fellow human being not be penalised with a huge fine for going a few mph over the speed limit. That's why I always flash to warn people ahead if there's a mobile speed camera ahead

Isn't that illegal?

Voyager2002

*pinkchick* wrote: »

1. I didn't endanger any lives
2. I'd much prefer a fellow human being not be penalised with a huge fine for going a few mph over the speed limit. That's why I always flash to warn people ahead if there's a mobile speed camera ahead

Which other laws do you choose to break? And the laws about speeding are in force for the simple reason to protect human life.

And do you think that criminals should escape punishment for all the crimes they commit?

*pinkchick*

tomtontom wrote: »

Unless you have diplomatic immunity the law will apply to you in the same way it would apply to an Aus citizen.

Is there a reason you don't want to pay the fine?

I should re-phrase that. I mean how the law can be enforced, not whether it applies to me.


I don't want to pay the fine because from a quick Google search, it could be £500, and I literally do not have £500. If it was a standard charge as it would be over here, I'd just pay it. But I think this kind of cost is ridiculous, and they issued me 2 within 3 minutes of each other, which in my mind is one occasion of speeding, not two, so I don't feel like I should pay twice.

*pinkchick*

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Which other laws do you choose to break? And the laws about speeding are in force for the simple reason to protect human life.

And do you think that criminals should escape punishment for all the crimes they commit?

I don't agree. Speeding fines are given out to bring in money to the government. Why else would they issue me 2 within 3 minutes of each other?


And I hardly think you can compare hardened crime to driving a few km over a speed limit. Also, i was on the Great Ocean Road, on an open road with no other drivers or people, going about 5km over the speed limit, so I'm confident in saying i didn't risk any human life.


If you can't help to answer my question I'm not sure why you're here?

TonyMMM

If your friend names you, you will get a letter offering you their equivalent of a fixed penalty , or a court appearance (depending on the speed and their local policy).

If you choose not to pay, or elect a court appearance and don't attend the fines will be registered in your name.

They will not pursue you in the UK for the money - but if you return to Australia, you might find an arrest warrant waiting for you.

If you don't intend to ever return, you would probably be OK to ignore the fines.

The hire company will not pay the fine on your behalf (they are allowed to charge an admin fee for dealing with the paperwork, which will be noted within the hire contract somewhere).

Ballard

*pinkchick* wrote: »

And I hardly think you can compare hardened crime to driving a few km over a speed limit. Also, i was on the Great Ocean Road, on an open road with no other drivers or people, going about 5km over the speed limit, so I'm confident in saying i didn't risk any human life.

Whilst I tend to agree that a large fine for a few km over the speed limit would be inappropriate I don't think that there's much of an argument with being fined if you're over the speed limit.

I was driven the entire length of that road last December and by and large it was either winding or surrounded by forests and therefore prone to animals venturing into the road.

My Aussie friend had an alarm that went off if he approached the speed limit so he didn't speed once all day. Perhaps it's the Aussie mentality, I don't know.

*pinkchick*

TonyMMM wrote: »

If your friend names you, you will get a letter offering you their equivalent of a fixed penalty , or a court appearance (depending on the speed and their local policy).

If you choose not to pay, or elect a court appearance and don't attend the fines will be registered in your name.

They will not pursue you in the UK for the money - but if you return to Australia, you might find an arrest warrant waiting for you.

If you don't intend to ever return, you would probably be OK to ignore the fines.

The hire company will not pay the fine on your behalf (they are allowed to charge an admin fee for dealing with the paperwork, which will be noted within the hire contract somewhere).

Thank you, that's really helpful. The car hire company have already charged $80 admin fee, which I'll have to pay, but it's good to know the enforcers can't go back to them for the money, and hopefully not my friend either.

*pinkchick*

Ballard wrote: »

Whilst I tend to agree that a large fine for a few km over the speed limit would be inappropriate I don't think that there's much of an argument with being fined if you're over the speed limit.

I was driven the entire length of that road last December and by and large it was either winding or surrounded by forests and therefore prone to animals venturing into the road.

My Aussie friend had an alarm that went off if he approached the speed limit so he didn't speed once all day. Perhaps it's the Aussie mentality, I don't know.

I wish my car had that! I really did try and keep to the speed limit as i was terrified of animals jumping out. But i know i will have gone over at least a few times as the journey is so monotonous, so i'll have done it without realising. I just don't agree with potentially hundreds of pounds for a slight infringement.

leylandsunaddict

*pinkchick* wrote: »

I wish my car had that! I really did try and keep to the speed limit as i was terrified of animals jumping out. But i know i will have gone over at least a few times as the journey is so monotonous, so i'll have done it without realising. I just don't agree with potentially hundreds of pounds for a slight infringement.

Don't Australian cars have cruise control?