Speeding Over 45km/h

The Law

It is an offence to exceed the speed limit by more than 45km/h pursuant to regulations 20 and 10-2(3) of the Road Rules 2014.

Penalties

The penalties for speeding over 45km/h (at the time of publication of this article), when dealt with by way of infringement notice, are:

Class A Motor Vehicle: This includes most motor vehicles but does not include a coach or motor vehicle with a GVM exceeding 4.5 tonnes.

Class B Motor Vehicle: This includes (a) a motor vehicle with a GVM exceeding 4.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12 tonnes, or (b) a motor vehicle and trailer combination with a GCM exceeding 4.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12 tonnes.

Class C Motor Vehicle: This includes a coach or a motor vehicle with a GVM of more than 12 tonnes.

Often, drivers elect to have their matters heard in Court and wish to plead “guilty” and seek leniency in sentencing. Upon conviction, however, a Court must order a minimum disqualification period of 6 months (which can be increased). Also, the maximum fine for a Class C motor vehicle increases to $3,740. Of course, the Court always has the discretion to decrease the fine to be paid.

Licence Suspensions

The offence of exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h attracts a licence suspension for a period of 6 months.

If the infringement notice is sent by the RMS as a result of speed camera detection, then the driver will be notified that their licence will be suspended 28 days from receipt of the notice. The driver will also be advised that there is a right of appeal to the Local Court.

However, if detected by a police officer, then the police officer has the discretion to suspend the driver’s licence, immediately, for a period of 6 months. The driver will then be given an opportunity to lodge an appeal against this decision, within 28 days.

Appealing a licence suspension imposed by a police officer can prove difficult and requires a detailed understanding of licence appeal laws and more specifically, the laws that relate to suspension imposed by police officers. (Read our article on Appealing Licence Suspensions for further information).

As with the offence of speeding more than 30km/h, a driver is able to defend an exceed speed by more than 45km/h offence on the basis that he or she was not speeding at all or, that despite speeding, the speed was not in excess of the limit by more than 45km/h. This is a very difficult task and generally requires the use of expert evidence.

If you have received a speeding infringement for speeding more than 45km/h and/or a licence suspension for the same offence, contact your nearest Prime Lawyers office; we may be able to help.

We have offices in Sydney, Parramatta, Chatswood, Sutherland and Wollongong.