Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 17 to 23 September 2018
In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: Britain May Ban Secret Facebook Groups A bill has been introduced to outlaw ‘secret’ social media groups on the basis that they are fertile ground...
Low Range Drink Drivers to Face On-The-Spot Fines & Suspensions
Low-range drink driving is where a driver has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 to 0.79 millilitres per 210 litres of breath. The maximum penalty when it’s the driver’s first major traffic offence within 5 years is an ‘automatic’ licence...
Arresting Drivers for Using Cold and Flu Tablets Will Not Save Lives
NSW roads minister Melinda Pavey has announced there will be an expansion of substances that can ‘influence’ drivers for the purpose of laws against driving under the influence (DUI). She has also announced a strategy designed to assess whether individuals...
NSW Police Criticised for Targeting ‘Absurd’ Offence
Residents in the Illawarra region, north of Wollongong, are angry about being targeted for an offence which has been described as ‘obscure’, ‘trivial’ and even ‘absurd’. The offence Regulation 213 of the Road Rules 2014 (NSW) is titled ‘making a...
New Road Laws: Tougher DUI Penalties, Targeting Phone Use and Cocaine Testing
On 1 July, a series of new road safety laws will come into effect across New South Wales. The new laws will add cocaine to the list of drugs police test drivers for, significantly increase the penalties for driving under...
Digital Driver Licences are On the Way
The NSW government plans to phase out plastic driver licences and replace them with digital ones, making the new version available on smartphones through the Service NSW app. It says digital licences will work the same way as current ones,...
Drug Driving Laws Criminalise the Legal Use of Cannabis
The Berejiklian government announced in January that NSW police are set to more than double the number of roadside drug tests they conduct from 97,000 to 200,000 a year by 2020. And along with more tests, another drug will be added...
Victoria Police Officers Faked 250,000 Breath Tests – But Won’t be Punished
The revelations that Victorian police officers who systematically reported fake breath tests will not face disciplinary action is further evidence that officers are being permitted to engage in misconduct without repercussions. The story so far An investigation revealed that in...
Give Distance to Cyclists or Face the Consequences
The Minimum Passing Distance rule has been retained as a permanent road rule in New South Wales, after a trial of the rule was hailed a success. The rule requires motorists to leave a minimum one-metre gap when passing cyclists...
NSW Government Says its Hidden Cameras Reveal Shocking Driver Conduct
Last month, the New South Wales government announced it would be trialling high-tech cameras capable of detecting illegal mobile phone use from as far away as a kilometre, and issuing fines without drivers being aware. The crackdown came after two...
