Charges: Driving Whilst Suspended
Facts: The client drove his girlfriend to work, despite the fact that his licence was suspended. He was pulled over randomly and charged with driving whilst his licence was suspended.
Results: The client was in a precarious position because he had a prior conviction for Drink Driving and another for Driving Whilst Disqualified (effectively the same offence as this new one).
The client was a plasterer and required his licence for work. He was only 5 months into a 12 month suspension he had received for travelling at 40km over the speed limit and breaching a 12 month bond option with VicRoads.
What many lawyers don’t know is that VicRoads suspensions and Court suspensions never run concurrently. One begins after the other one ends. We therefore raised the question of totality in relation to the fairness of this penalty.
On this occasion the Magistrate was persuaded, and the client received a fine with no further period of suspension. It helped that the client was a hard working person who paid his child support and had others relying upon his income. Nevertheless, for a person with his history it was an amazing outcome.
