Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002 (Vic)
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
Act No. 46/2002
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1
1. Purposes 1 2. Commencement 2
PART 2—AMENDMENT OF ROAD SAFETY ACT 1986 3
3. Definitions 3 4. Probationary driver licences 3 5. Demerits register 3 6. Appeal to Magistrates' Court 5 7. Power of court to cancel, suspend or vary licences and permits 5 8. Failing a breath test offence 6 9. Immediate suspension of driver licence or permit in certain circumstances 6 10. Cancellation of licence or permit for drink-driving infringements 11 11. Suspension of licence or permit for excessive speed infringements 12 12. Disclosure of information 12 13. New section 103C inserted 12
103C. Application of amendments made by the Road Safety
(Responsible Driving) Act 2002 12
14. New Schedule 5 substituted 15 SCHEDULE 5—Minimum suspension periods for excessive
speed 15
i
Section Page PART 3—AMENDMENT OF MARINE ACT 1988 16
15. Failing a breath test offence 16 16. New Division 4 inserted in Part 11 16 Division 4—Transitional Provision—Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002 16
155. Transitional provision—failing a breath test offence 16
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ENDNOTES 17
ii
Victoria
No. 46 of 2002
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act
2002†
[Assented to 22 October 2002]
The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:
PART 1—PRELIMINARY
1. Purposes
The purposes of this Act are—
(a) to amend the Road Safety Act 1986—
(i) to introduce measures to deter excessive speeding; and
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
| s. 2 | Act No. 46/2002 |
(ii) learner permit or probationary driver
licence may be immediately suspendedto expand the circumstances in which a and
(iii) to clarify the scope of the failing a breath test offence—
and to make other amendments to that Act;
(b)
to amend the Marine Act 1988 to clarify the scope of the failing a breath test offence.
2. Commencement
(1) This Part and sections 8 and 15 come into
operation on the day after the day on which this
Act receives the Royal Assent.
(2) Subject to sub-section (3), the remaining
provisions of this Act come into operation on a
day or days to be proclaimed.
(3) If a provision of this Act referred to in sub-
section (2) does not come into operation before
1 December 2003, it comes into operation on thatday.
__________________
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
Act No. 46/2002 s. 3
PART 2—AMENDMENT OF ROAD SAFETY ACT 1986
3. Definitions
See:
In section 3(1) of the Road Safety Act 1986— Act No.
127/1986.
(a) the definition of "probationary driver Reprint No. 7 infringement" is repealed; as at
19 June(b) paragraph (g) of the definition of "traffic infringement" is repealed.
2002 and amending
Act Nos 19/1991,
89/1991 (as amended by
Nos 23/2001, 92/2001) and,
54/2001. LawToday: dpc.vic. gov.au
4. Probationary driver licences
In section 21 of the Road Safety Act 1986, sub-sections (3), (4) and (5) are repealed.
5. Demerits register
(1) In section 25 of the Road Safety Act 1986,
sub-sections (2A) and (2B) are repealed. (2) In section 25 of the Road Safety Act 1986, forsub-section (3) substitute—
"(3) The Corporation must serve a notice
containing the prescribed particulars on—
(a)
the holder of a full driver licence if he or she incurs 12 or more demerit points within any 3 year period; and
(b)
the holder of a learner permit or probationary driver licence if he or she incurs—
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
| s. 5 | Act No. 46/2002 |
(i) 5 or more demerit points within any 1 year period; or
(ii) 12 or more demerit points within any 3 year period.".
(3) In section 25(3B) of the Road Safety Act 1986,
for paragraph (a) substitute—
"(a) in the case of a person who holds a full
driver licence, suspend the licence for
6 months and an additional 2 months for
each 4 demerit points in excess of 12
recorded against the person as at the date of
issue of the notice under sub-section (3); and
(ab) in the case of a person who holds a learner
permit or probationary driver licence,
suspend the permit or licence for—
(i) 6 months in respect of the first person as at the date of issue of the notice under sub-section (3); and
(ii) an additional 2 months for each against the person as at that date; and".
(4) In section 25(3B) of the Road Safety Act 1986—
(a)
in paragraph (b), for "that person" substitute "the person referred to in paragraph (a) or (ab)"; and
(b)
in paragraph (c), for "the person" substitute "the person referred to in paragraph (a) or (ab)".
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
Act No. 46/2002 s. 6 (5) In section 25(3D) of the Road Safety Act 1986, for paragraph (a) substitute—
"(a) suspend his or her driver licence (whether or not a probationary driver licence) or learner permit for 3 months and an additional
1 month for each 4 demerit points in excess
of—(i) 12, in the case of a full driver licence or, if the holder incurred 12 or more demerit points within any 3 year period
but not 5 or more within any 1 year
period, a learner permit or probationary
driver licence; or(ii) 5 in the case of a learner permit or probationary driver licence if the holder incurred 5 or more demerit points within any 1 year period—
recorded against the person as at the date of
issue of the notice under sub-section (3);and".
6. Appeal to Magistrates' Court
In section 26(1)(c) of the Road Safety Act 1986, after "section 25(3B)(a)" insert ", (3B)(ab)".
7. Power of court to cancel, suspend or vary licences and permits
In section 28 of the Road Safety Act 1986—
(a)
in sub-section (1)(a)(ii), for "30 kilometres" substitute "25 kilometres";
(b) at the foot of the section insert—
"Note: A period during which a licence or permit is
cancelled or suspended under this section is in
addition to, and does not count as part of, a
period of suspension under section 25 (see
section 25(4C) and (4D)).".
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
| s. 8 | Act No. 46/2002 |
8. Failing a breath test offence
In section 49(1)(f) of the Road Safety Act 1986, for "55(1) or (2AA)" substitute "55".
9. Immediate suspension of driver licence or permit in certain circumstances
(1) In section 51(1) of the Road Safety Act 1986— (a) omit "an offence under";
(b) for paragraph (a) substitute—
"(a) an offence under paragraph (b), (f) or (g) of section 49(1) where it is alleged that the concentration of alcohol in the person's blood was—
(i) if the person holds a full driver
licence, 0⋅15 grams per
100 millilitres of blood or more;
or(ii) if the person holds a learner permit or probationary driver
licence, 0⋅07 grams per
100 millilitres of blood or more;
or";
(c)
in paragraph (b), before "paragraph" insert "an offence under";
(d) for paragraph (c) substitute—
"(c) an offence that would be a subsequent
offence within the meaning of section48(2) if the person were convicted—".
(2) After section 51(1A) of the Road Safety Act
1986 insert—
"(1B) Any member of the police force may give a
person a notice (containing the prescribed
particulars) informing the person that his or
her driver licence or permit is immediately
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
Act No. 46/2002 s. 9 suspended and requiring the person to
surrender the licence or permit document tothe member of the police force if—
(a)
paragraph (f) or (g) of section 49(1) applies to the person; and
(b)
a certificate is issued under section 55(4) or 57 stating the concentration of alcohol present in the person's blood as indicated by the analysis of the person's breath or blood sample; and
(c) that concentration is—
(i) if the person holds a full driver
licence—0⋅15 grams per
100 millilitres of blood or more;
or(ii) if the person holds a learner permit or probationary driver
licence—0⋅07 grams per
100 millilitres of blood or more;
or(iii) before the commission of the
alleged offence, been found guilty
or convicted of an offence (other
than an accompanying driver
offence) referred to in section
48(2)(a), (b), (c), (e) or (f)—the
prescribed concentration of
alcohol or more than theif the person has, within 10 years alcohol.
(1C) A notice under sub-section (1B) may be
given at any time within 12 months after the
certificate is issued and must specify the
period of suspension in accordance with
sub-section (3).".
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
| s. 9 | Act No. 46/2002 |
(3) For section 51(3) of the Road Safety Act 1986
substitute—
"(3) Immediately on the giving of a notice under
sub-section (1), (1A) or (1B) the person's
driver licence or permit is suspended—
(a) if the notice is given under sub-section (1) or (1A), until the charge has been determined by a court; or (b) subject to sub-section (3A), if the notice is given under sub-section (1B), until the lesser of— (i) 12 months after the notice is given; or
(ii) the period, after the notice is given, set out in Column 2 of Schedule 1 that corresponds to the
blood alcohol concentration in stated in the certificate.
(3A) If—
(a) a person's driver licence or permit is suspended in accordance with a notice under sub-section (1B); and (b) less than 28 days before the end of the period of suspension, a traffic infringement notice is issued against the person in respect of the alleged offence— the period of suspension under sub-section (3)(b) is not affected by the person giving a notice of objection to the traffic infringement
notice before the end of that period but, if the
person does not give a notice of objection
before the end of that period, the period is
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
Act No. 46/2002 s. 9 extended until the end of the 28 day period
for giving the notice of objection.
(3B) If—
(a) a person's driver licence or permit is suspended in accordance with a notice under sub-section (1B); and (b) 28 days or more before the end of the period of suspension, a traffic infringement notice is issued against the person in respect of the alleged offence— the period of suspension under sub-section (3)(b) is not affected by the person giving a notice of objection to the traffic infringement
notice within the 28 day period for doing so.
Note: If the person does not give a notice of objection
within the 28 day period for doing so the person's driver licence or permit may be cancelled under section 89C(1).
(3C) If—
(a) sub-section (3A) or (3B) applies to a person; and (b) the person does not give a notice of objection to the traffic infringement notice within the 28 day period for doing so; and
(c)
the person's driver licence or permit is cancelled under section 89C(1)—
any period of suspension under this section
ends when the driver licence or permit is
cancelled under section 89C(1) and the
period for which the person is disqualified
under that section from obtaining a driver
licence or permit is reduced by the period of
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
| s. 9 | Act No. 46/2002 |
the suspension (as extended, if applicable, by
sub-section (3A)).
(3D) If a person who is given a notice under
sub-section (1B) is charged with the alleged offence during the period of suspension (as extended, if applicable, by sub-section (3A)),
from the time the charge is laid the notice is
taken to be instead a notice under sub-section
(1) or (1A) (whichever is applicable).Note: The period of suspension therefore continues until the charge is determined by a court (see sub-section (3)(a)).".
(4) In sub-sections (4) and (5) of section 51 of the
Road Safety Act 1986, for "(1) or (1A)" substitute "(1), (1A) or (1B)".
(5) After section 51(9) of the Road Safety Act 1986,
insert—
"(9A) The Chief Commissioner of Police may
cancel a notice under sub-section (1), (1A) or
(1B) by notifying (in writing) the person to
whom the notice was given and must cause a
copy of the cancellation to be sentimmediately to the Corporation.".
(6) In section 51(10) of the Road Safety Act 1986,
for "(1) or (1A)" substitute "(1), (1A) or (1B)".
(7) After section 51(12) of the Road Safety Act 1986
insert—
"(12A) If a person whose driver licence or permit is suspended in accordance with a notice under sub-section (1), (1A) or (1B) is before a
court for any reason in relation to the alleged
offence, the court may make an order
cancelling the notice if it is satisfied that
exceptional circumstances exist which justify
making the order.".
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
Act No. 46/2002 s. 10 10. Cancellation of licence or permit for drink-driving infringements
In section 89C of the Road Safety Act 1986—
(a) at the foot of sub-section (1) insert—
"Note: The period for which the person is disqualified
from obtaining a driver licence or permit is reduced if the person's licence was already suspended in accordance with a notice under
section 51(1B) (see section 51(3C)).";
(b) sub-sections (2) and (3) are repealed;
(c)
in sub-section (3A) omit ", suspended or suspended and disqualified";
(d)
in sub-section (4) omit ", suspension and extension of probation under sub-section (2) or suspension and disqualification under sub- section (3)";
(e) in sub-section (5)—
(i) omit "or suspension"; and
(ii) omit "or suspended";
(f) in sub-section (8), for "is more than 0⋅05 grams per 100 millilitres of blood."
substitute—
"is—(a) 0⋅05 grams per 100 millilitres of blood or more, if section 52 applies to the
person; or(b) 0⋅07 grams per 100 millilitres of blood or more, in any other case.".
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
| s. 11 | Act No. 46/2002 |
11. Suspension of licence or permit for excessive speed infringements
In section 89D of the Road Safety Act 1986—
(a) sub-section (2) is repealed;
(b)
in sub-section (3), for ", disqualification or extension of probation" substitute "or disqualification";
(c) at the foot of the section insert—
"Note: A period during which a licence or permit is
suspended under this section is in addition to,
and does not count as part of, a period of
suspension under section 25 (see section 25(4C)
and (4D)).".
12. Disclosure of information
In section 92(3) of the Road Safety Act 1986, after paragraph (ia) insert—
"(ib) for the purposes of the police force of
Victoria or the Corporation notifying a person about the possible consequences of incurring further demerit points; or".
13. New section 103C inserted
After section 103B of the Road Safety Act 1986 insert—
"103C. Application of amendments made by the Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
(1) Despite the amendments made by section 4 of the Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002, sub-sections (3), (4) and (5) of
section 21 of this Act, as in force
immediately before the commencement of
those amendments, continue to apply to
offences alleged to have been committed
before that commencement.
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
Act No. 46/2002 s. 13 (2) The amendments to section 25(3), (3B) and
(3D) of this Act made by section 5 of the Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002 only apply to a person who held a
learner permit or probationary driver licence
before the amendments commence if the
person incurs one or more demerit points
after that commencement.(3) If the amendments referred to in sub-section
(2) apply to a person, a reference in
section 25 of this Act to demerit points
incurred by the person includes a reference
to demerit points incurred by the person
before the commencement of those
amendments.
(4) The amendments to this Act made by sections 7 and 14 of the Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002 only apply
to offences alleged to have been committed
after the commencement of those
amendments.(5) The amendment to section 49(1)(f) of this Act made by section 8 of the Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002 only
applies to offences alleged to have been
committed after the commencement of thatamendment.
(6) The amendments to section 51 of this Act
made by section 9(1)(b) and section 9(2) to alleged to have been committed after the commencement of those amendments.
(7) of the Road Safety (Responsible(7) The amendments to section 51 of this Act made by section 9(1)(a), (c) and (d) of the Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002 apply to offences alleged to have been
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
| s. 13 | Act No. 46/2002 |
committed before, on or after the
commencement of those amendments.
(8) Despite the amendments made by section 10
of the Road Safety (Responsible Driving) section 89C of this Act, as in force immediately before the commencement of those amendments, continue to apply to offences alleged to have been committed before that commencement.
(9) The amendment to section 89C(8) of this Act
made by section 10 of the Road Safety
(Responsible Driving) Act 2002 applies to
any traffic infringement notice issued on or
after 21 December 2001 for a drink-driving
infringement irrespective of when the
infringement was committed.
(10) For the purposes of sub-sections (1), (4), (5),
(6) and (8), if an offence is alleged to have
been committed between two dates, one
before and one after the commencement
referred to in the particular sub-section, the
offence is alleged to have been committed—
(a) in the case of sub-sections (1) and (8), before the commencement referred to in sub-section (1) or (8) (as the case may be); or
(b)
in the case of sub-sections (4), (5) and (6), after the commencement referred to in that sub-section.".
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
Act No. 46/2002 s. 14
14. New Schedule 5 substituted
For Schedule 5 to the Road Safety Act 1986 substitute—
"SCHEDULE 5
Section 28
Section 89D
MINIMUM SUSPENSION PERIODS FOR
EXCESSIVE SPEED
Column 1 Column 2 Minimum Speed of vehicle period
1. Exceed speed limit by 25 kilometres per 1 month hour or more, but less than 35 kilometres
per hour.2. Exceed speed limit by 35 kilometres per 6 months hour or more, but less than 45 kilometres
per hour.3. Exceed speed limit by 45 kilometres per 12 months hour or more. 4. Any speed of 130 kilometres per hour or 1 month more that is not covered by item 1, 2 or 3.
".
__________________
Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
| s. 15 | Act No. 46/2002 |
PART 3—AMENDMENT OF MARINE ACT 1988
15. Failing a breath test offence
See:
| Act No. | In section 28(1)(e) of the Marine Act 1988, for |
| 52/1988. | "31(1)" substitute "31". |
| Reprint No. 5 as at 7 February | |
| 2002 and | |
| amending Act | |
| Nos 77/2001 and 11/2002. LawToday: dpc.vic. | |
| gov.au |
16. New Division 4 inserted in Part 11
In Part 11 of the Marine Act 1988, after
Division 3 insert—"Division 4—Transitional Provision—Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
155. Transitional provision—failing a breath
test offence(1) The amendment to section 28(1)(e) of this
Act made by section 15 of the Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002 only applies to offences alleged to have been committed after the commencement of that amendment.
(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), if an
offence is alleged to have been committed
between two dates, one before and one after
the commencement referred to in that sub-
section, the offence is alleged to have been
committed after that commencement.".
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Road Safety (Responsible Driving) Act 2002
Act No. 46/2002 Endnotes
ENDNOTES
†
Minister's second reading speech—
Legislative Assembly: 12 September 2002
Legislative Council: 15 October 2002
The long title for the Bill for this Act was "to make miscellaneous
amendments to the Road Safety Act 1986, to amend the Marine Act
1988 and for other purposes."
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