NSW Speeding fine - 30km - 45km - Guaranteed loss of licence?

[JimBob43]

Hello Folks,

I was pulled over by a police motorcycle and advised I was travelling between 30km-45km over the limit in a 70km zone. I haven't been pulled over for speeding in 14 years and was surprised I didn't receive a paper ticket, though he said the camera (pointing to his chest) was recording the incident. He advised i will receive a notice from RMS advising they may cancel my licence for 3 months as its up to their discretion and sent me on my way.

Upon investigating further, it seems the RMS will by default issue the fine and send notice of 3 months licence suspension. The fine is $903 + 5 demerit points. I currently only have 2 demerit points for a parking fine on my licence over the past 14 years, though have had prior low speed camera offenses over a 27 year period.

Q1. Will the RMS just process the fine and send a notice of suspension as per a standard protocol?
Q2. If a notice of suspension for 3 months is issued, will a letter to the RMS pleading previous driving record be taken into consideration in addition to other personal circumstances (i.e. need to attend medical appointments, take children to school) be considered or will it be a court appearance only that will decide for a suspension be waived?
Q3. After reading many responses on these forums, it seems traffic offences are not considered criminal records, thus even if I was unsuccessful in quashing the 3 month licence suspension I would not have a criminal record?
Q4. Does anyone have personal experience for self representation vs professional representation in court for a matter listed above? What is the success rate with or without representation?

Many thanks for your time for your opinions on the above. Understand none of the replies are legal counsel.

 

[Adam1user]

Hello Folks,

I was pulled over by a police motorcycle and advised I was travelling between 30km-45km over the limit in a 70km zone. I haven't been pulled over for speeding in 14 years and was surprised I didn't receive a paper ticket, though he said the camera (pointing to his chest) was recording the incident. He advised i will receive a notice from RMS advising they may cancel my licence for 3 months as its up to their discretion and sent me on my way.

Upon investigating further, it seems the RMS will by default issue the fine and send notice of 3 months licence suspension. The fine is $903 + 5 demerit points. I currently only have 2 demerit points for a parking fine on my licence over the past 14 years, though have had prior low speed camera offenses over a 27 year period.

Q1. Will the RMS just process the fine and send a notice of suspension as per a standard protocol?
Q2. If a notice of suspension for 3 months is issued, will a letter to the RMS pleading previous driving record be taken into consideration in addition to other personal circumstances (i.e. need to attend medical appointments, take children to school) be considered or will it be a court appearance only that will decide for a suspension be waived?
Q3. After reading many responses on these forums, it seems traffic offences are not considered criminal records, thus even if I was unsuccessful in quashing the 3 month licence suspension I would not have a criminal record?
Q4. Does anyone have personal experience for self representation vs professional representation in court for a matter listed above? What is the success rate with or without representation?

Many thanks for your time for your opinions on the above. Understand none of the replies are legal counsel.

Hi,
Q1 : Yes. It is standard procedure.
Q2. You can ask for review of the fine. But Speeding, Red Light are considered a big no-no and very unlikely you will be off the hook unless you have a very solid reason to do the infringement such as taking someone to hospital in an emergency (and you need to prove that), other reasons such what you wrote are not sufficient (that is my opinion), as there is a responsibility on you to follow the road rules and not break them, the red light and speeding can have fatal results. It is very unlikely that the result of the review will waive or withdraw the infringement as it is a very strict process and depends on your driving record (as explained below). After the review you may elect to go to court or elect to go to court directly without the review. This depends on your situation.
Q3. Traffic offences are not criminal, unless you use the vehicle to do damage or harm on purpose.
Q4. I went to court 3 times and won them all, so I have 100% success rate. I represented myself, not that I am a God, but I knew (was very positive) that each of those cases I would be right and not get an infringement. This will depend on your situation and your driving record and the reasons why you did the infringement. If you have legal representation, you are sure that someone qualified and knows the process so you minimse the risk of anything going wrong. If you represent yourself you may not say what is needed or say something wrong and may not get a better outcome. This is your choice, think about it and then take a decision.