QUEENSLAND OFFENCES

DRINK DRIVING

Drink driving in QLD is one of the most complex collections of subsections of any piece of legislation. This is primarily because there have been so many changes and challenges to the legislation since its inception in 1995. Each it has been successfully challenged, the legislators either add or remove a subsection, with very complicated results.

Some of the offences you may be charged with under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act include:

Exceeding Prescribed Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) or Prescribed Content of Alcohol (PCA);
Refusing to Accompany Police;
Refusing to Furnish a Breath or Blood Sample;
Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs.

Within the PCA offences, there are a number of other sub-offences for the reading obtained (for individuals held to the general alcohol limit), including:

Low Range – BAC reading in excess of the general alcohol limit of 0.05% but less than 0.10%

Middle Range – BAC reading of 0.10% but less than 0.15%

High Range – BAC reading of 0.15% or over

We represent clients charged with the above offences on a daily basis, with offices just a short drive from both the Southport Courthouse on the Gold Coast and the Brisbane Magistrate’s Court in Brisbane.

The Penalties

If you are caught driving with a BAC reading less than 0.10, you will receive a 24-hour licence suspension. This means you will not lose your licence for longer than the 24-hour period until your matter is dealt with in court, and you should be aware that if you do not drive until you appear, this will not come off the time you are ordered to be disqualified for by the court.

Your licence will be immediately suspended if you:

have been charged with a low range drink driving offence (over 0.0 but under 0.10 BAC) and:

- you have a prior drink driving charge pending; or

- you were the holder of a section 79E order and your replacement licence is subject
to an X4 condition

have been charged with a mid range or high range drink driving offence (0.10 BAC and over)

fail to provide police with a specimen of breath or blood when requested

have been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence.

The immediate suspension will end when the drink driving charge has been dealt with by the court, is withdrawn or discontinued. Note that this does not mean that you will get your licence back once the matter is finalised in court, but that any disqualification ordered by the court will then replace this immediate suspension.
If you are charged with a repeat drink driving offence, you may:

have your car impounded (if you have a BAC 0.15 and over or fail to provide a specimen of breath or blood)

have your licence disqualified for up to 2 years

be fined up to $8,007; or

be sentenced to a term of imprisonment determined by the court.
You can apply to have your driver licence reissued once your disqualification period ends, however you will be required to hold a probationary licence for at least 1 year before your open licence status will be reinstated (if you previously held an open licence when you were caught). You may also be subject to the alcohol ignition interlock requirement once your disqualification ends.

Can I Defend The Charge?

Whether you can defend the charge will depend on the circumstances of the case, however if pleading guilty you are always able to mitigate the penalty by preparing properly with an experienced traffic lawyer, who will help you get the best outcome in the circumstances.

This may involve preparing letters, supporting material, character references, or other relevant applications that may be available to you, such as a restricted Work Licence.

To find out what applications you may be eligible for, review the section on Work Licences or get in touch with us.