New state transportation director David Levy submits a bill to punish drunken driving (Sydney Morning Herald)
A draft legislation draft submitted to the new state parliament severely punishes drunken driving, imposing a A $561 fine and revoking its license for three months. If moderately drunk driving is detected, a breathing test interlock must be installed on the vehicle.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, under new state traffic regulations, all drivers found to be drunk drivers are required to attend the hearing, so there is no minimum fine. The average penalty for first-time low-alcohol driving was A $482 in 2017, compared with an average fine of A $472 for first-time poisoned drivers, according to data.
On Wednesday, the new state's transportation chief, David (Melinda Pavey), submitted a bill to the state Congress that plans to impose on-the-spot penalties for low-alcohol and drug-driving drivers. If drivers choose to challenge low-alcohol driving charges in court, they could face a fine of up to A $2200, twice the maximum penalty currently imposed by a judge.
In the three years to June 2017, more than half of low-alcohol driving offenders were exempted from fines or not recorded in court, so it could be more deterrent for the police to issue fines on the spot, Mr. Pevey said, noting that in the three years to June 2017, more than half of low-alcohol driving offenders were exempt from fines or not recorded in the crime record.
Mr. Pavey said the new rules were aimed at strengthening deterrence and change driver behaviour. It also requires drivers who are found to be moderately drunk to install breathing test interlocks on their cars for two years.
Between September 2016 and 2017, more than 10,000 new state drivers were convicted by courts of low-alcohol driving or special driving. In addition, about 6000 drivers are found each year for the first moderate alcohol drive.
Pavey said that the proposed provisions would significantly reduce the automatic submission to the new state district court to deal with matters, reducing the pressure on court resources.
Since 2015, more than 6900 highly drunk drivers or multiple drunk drivers have been ordered to install respiratory test interlocks in the new state. The installation cost is about A $180, and service charges are required. In addition, the removal fee is A $100.
In addition, the bill proposes that if a driver is found to be moderately drunk twice within five years, he or she may be liable to forfeiture of a licence, seizure of a vehicle or full forfeiture of the vehicle. These penalties currently only apply to speeding, racing and refusing to stop causing police to chase and so on.
If the bill is passed, most of these adjustments will come into effect in May 2019. (he Rong)