Sticking to the lawful driving habits is definitely the best way to avoid the suspension of your driver’s license; however, even the most vigilant and law-abiding drivers have moments of a lapse in focus and attention. When this happens, they’re faced with a penalty or a license suspension, which puts one in a bit of a difficult spot.
You see, a lot of people use their personal vehicles as their primary mean of commute, which is why having their driver’s license suspended may be seen as a major blow to their lifestyle, budget or even odds of employment. Still, due to the fact that different countries and states have different laws and regulations, avoiding a driver’s license suspension might be quite situational. Here are several tips on how to avoid a driver’s license suspension in NSW.
A penalty notice
Once you’ve committed a traffic offense, you can expect a penalty notice in the mail. This notice contains several different elements. First, it clearly states what the offense was. Second, it notifies you of the demerit points that you are due for this offense. Finally, it gives you the cost of the fee for the offense. Now, if you’re dissatisfied, you can take this matter to the court.
Ideally, you would find specialists to represent you – luckily, some of the most prestigious Sydney criminal lawyers also specialize in traffic law. Needless to say, regardless if you decide to pay the fine or not, you can still take this matter to the law. All of this should be done about 28 days from receiving the notice.
A dismissed charge
When it comes to reviewing all the possible outcomes, the best-case scenario is definitely for your charges to be dismissed in their entirety. One of the most common misconceptions about a dismissed charge is the idea that this means that you’re not guilty. It’s quite the opposite actually. What this means is that you accept your own guilt and responsibility, however, due to other factors that go in your favor, you are granted a certain level of leniency.
These factors are things like a good previous record and the fact that your offense wasn’t a major one. Also, keep in mind that a dismissed charge means that you won’t get any demerit points, which puts you one step further away from your license being suspended.
What happens if you fail?
The most important question that the majority of people in this situation ask themselves is what happens if they fail? First of all, the court may end up giving you a somewhat higher fine. Second, you might have to pay a court costs levy or even a victim’s support levy (provided that this is a scenario where there’s an injured party).
Third, you will have to cover the legal costs of the prosecutor. Finally, you may be convicted of an offense. In the worst-case scenario, this conviction will be recorded on your criminal record. This is one more reason why you shouldn’t save money on the lawyer.
An appeal is sometimes an option
The next thing you need to take into consideration is the fact that you may be able to appeal the license suspension decision. Nonetheless, this is not always the case. For instance, a license suspension for exceeding the speed limit may be appealed, provided that you’ve exceeded by 30 to 45 kilometers an hour.
For speeding by more than 45 kilometers per hour, you may only be able to appeal on-spot. A decision for a loss of a provisional driver’s license for loss of demerit points is also appealable. On the other hand, a breach of a good behavior period or a loss of unrestricted license for a loss of demerit points is non-appealable.
Preparing for an appeal
Finally, you need to know the proper legal procedure for appealing for a suspension of your driver’s license. For starters, you can lodge an appeal in one of several ways. First, you can attend a local court, follow the direction on the letter that you will receive from the RMS. Lastly, in NSW, there’s an online service that you can use for this purpose.
In your preparation for the appeal, you need to clearly state your reasons for committing the offense, as well as the reasons why you need your driver’s license (some of which we’ve discussed in the introduction). An impeccable traffic record and prior good behavior can also be helpful.
Conclusion
In the end, you need to keep in mind that you always have your options. What you need to ask yourself, nonetheless, is whether your driver’s license is really worth all these investments and legal struggle. If that is the case, you now have the means to do so.
