Speeding ticket in Oz
Discussion
i would doubt you have to pay it, i very much doubt they would have your driving licence details paired up with your passport number so the chances of them picking up on it in future would be fairly thin.
they are however far more strict about speeding than we are, much tighter levels than us. which is fairly ironic considering the lax attitude to many other things on their roads, not least lane discipline.
IANAL and i expect to be told i'm talking cobblers
they are however far more strict about speeding than we are, much tighter levels than us. which is fairly ironic considering the lax attitude to many other things on their roads, not least lane discipline.
IANAL and i expect to be told i'm talking cobblers
Good old Civic Compliance Vic. Before I became PR here they ticketed me. I paid the fine and sent them a letter asking how they would be issuing demerit points to my UK licence - they retracted the 'enforcement' and refunded my money without questions.
So, I'd say similar should apply for you - write to them stating you were a tourist and international licence holder at the time (and of course that you're most remorseful for your actions).
But, you could probably just ignore it too if you are now out of the country.
So, I'd say similar should apply for you - write to them stating you were a tourist and international licence holder at the time (and of course that you're most remorseful for your actions).
But, you could probably just ignore it too if you are now out of the country.
cheechm said:
Got a speeding ticket in Oz. Don't plan on going back there for at least 10 years. Do I need to pay it?
(Please excuse my attitude. The speed was less than 10% over...)
No need to pay, for all practical purposes unenforceable.(Please excuse my attitude. The speed was less than 10% over...)
Co-operation between Oz and NZ is much closer than Oz and UK. I picked up an Oz speeding ticket a few years ago (and I live in NZ) - totally ignored it...and nothing has happened since...even after hiring another car from the same company.
I would reckon it would be the talk of the "fine" centre if someone from overseas actually paid a scam invoice.
cheechm said:
Got a speeding ticket in Oz. Don't plan on going back there for at least 10 years. Do I need to pay it?
(Please excuse my attitude. The speed was less than 10% over...)
Victoria has a literal interpretation of speed limit. Whatever is posted is an absolute maximum and no allowance for error.(Please excuse my attitude. The speed was less than 10% over...)
HenryJM said:
New systems come in, tehchnology improves, days come where you find that whatever you may not have encountered in the past starts to become a problem in the future.
Personally I'd pay the fine simply because it's the kind of thing that in the future can come and bite you.
yes they do, but by and large they don't stick old data on the new systems, and as far as I am aware the system to link up the foreign driving licences with passports doesn't exist out there. which is ironic considering the amount of IT people that are Australian that I have worked with. Their IT systems are behind a lot of Europe.Personally I'd pay the fine simply because it's the kind of thing that in the future can come and bite you.
jesta1865 said:
yes they do, but by and large they don't stick old data on the new systems, and as far as I am aware the system to link up the foreign driving licences with passports doesn't exist out there. which is ironic considering the amount of IT people that are Australian that I have worked with. Their IT systems are behind a lot of Europe.
Australia has a federal (or Commonwealth) government which does immigration and border control. And a number of clueless state governments who do speeding tickets. The federal and state computers no talkie.
The federal government also has no interest in helping the states with any unpaid fines.
jesta1865 said:
yes they do, but by and large they don't stick old data on the new systems, and as far as I am aware the system to link up the foreign driving licences with passports doesn't exist out there. which is ironic considering the amount of IT people that are Australian that I have worked with. Their IT systems are behind a lot of Europe.
creampuff said:
Australia has a federal (or Commonwealth) government which does immigration and border control. And a number of clueless state governments who do speeding tickets.
The federal and state computers no talkie.
The federal government also has no interest in helping the states with any unpaid fines.
Oh I appreciate that, I've been to Australia 40 or so times and own an IT company there. There are lots of quirks there, separation between federal and state being one of them. But really it's down to cost v risk, there is a definite risk that in coming years they will on passport control know about an outstanding fine. Equally there is a risk that they will be able to collect outstanding fines internationally.The federal and state computers no talkie.
The federal government also has no interest in helping the states with any unpaid fines.
I don't know how big those risks are and I suspect nobody else on here does either. Unlike the OP I also don't know how much the fine is. I also don't know where the car came from and whether they have a route through there that comes back to you another, possibly more expensive, way.
Personally I'd pay it because I suspect that the amount to me is likely to be trivial and the risk is unknown and not worth taking. To someone else the risk is probably less because the liklihood of going is less, but personally I'd still pay it and move on.
Oz rules on speed are ridiculous. Long flat straight empty roads between melbourne and mildura and I'm sat at 105kmh (it's just too painful to sit at 100) for hours on end.
And if there's a fourbie sat at 80, the traffic just backs up and these guys just can't overtake. They just sit on each other's arses at 80. So it's bloody difficult to overtake as you've got to get past 3-4 cars.
Good thing I've got a v6 commie. Wanted a v8 ute but there weren't any around at the time in the sticks :sigh:
And if there's a fourbie sat at 80, the traffic just backs up and these guys just can't overtake. They just sit on each other's arses at 80. So it's bloody difficult to overtake as you've got to get past 3-4 cars.
Good thing I've got a v6 commie. Wanted a v8 ute but there weren't any around at the time in the sticks :sigh:
TooMany2cvs said:
Whose car?
If it was a rental, they'll probably pay it and just re-bill you.
If it was borrowed off a local friend, they might prefer it if you coughed rather than have to deal with it themselves.
If it was a rental, the rental company will charge some nominal fee to your credit card which you used the rent the car for the service of providing your details to the office of state revenue, or whoever it is now who collects fine money. This is not paying the fine, it is paying Avis/Hertz etc to inform who the renter was at the time of the offence. So it is still up to you if you pay it or not. If it was a rental, they'll probably pay it and just re-bill you.
If it was borrowed off a local friend, they might prefer it if you coughed rather than have to deal with it themselves.
If it was a borrowed car, the registered owner of the car nominates you as the driver, it stops being their problem. It's still up to you if you pay it or not.
Personally if you don't plan to go back for a while, I would not pay it. Speeding enforcement in Oz is ridiculous and driving standards are very poor despite (or because of) that, so I'd feel no moral obligation to pay it.
No need to pay. I got stopped by the Police over there and the police officer was even laughing when he told me the fine. He said "you could pay it or if you have left the country within 14 days you might forget".
I did. I forgot !
p.s I also forgot to pay the parking fine that they sent to me, once back in the UK.
I did. I forgot !
p.s I also forgot to pay the parking fine that they sent to me, once back in the UK.
No need to pay. Enforcement is the issue, theoretically Australia can enforce - in practice they can't.
I suspect (if you gave a correct address in the UK), you will get a couple of begging letters in the post. Simply ignore them.
I got a speed camera fine in Oz a few years ago, been back since and hired a car from the same company without any issues. And I live in NZ and the co-operation between Oz and NZ is much closer than with the UK.
I suspect (if you gave a correct address in the UK), you will get a couple of begging letters in the post. Simply ignore them.
I got a speed camera fine in Oz a few years ago, been back since and hired a car from the same company without any issues. And I live in NZ and the co-operation between Oz and NZ is much closer than with the UK.
HenryJM said:
New systems come in, tehchnology improves, days come where you find that whatever you may not have encountered in the past starts to become a problem in the future.
Personally I'd pay the fine simply because it's the kind of thing that in the future can come and bite you.
I'd be tempted to just ignore it, but I did that once in the past and it bit me in the backside fairly spectacularly: a fine for being badly behaved on a bicycle during a boozy student weekend in Amsterdam caused me to miss my connecting flight and pay an eye-watering set of penalties when flying through Schipol nearly a decade later. Personally I'd pay the fine simply because it's the kind of thing that in the future can come and bite you.
In this case, you pay your money or you take your chances.....
Picked up a ticket in NZ Xmas 2013/14 for being 3 mph over the limit. Must have been a sly gantry camera because I very seldomly broke the limit while there for a month (and never by much) , and thought I was diligent re cameras. The fine was about £23 so in the interests of peace of mind I paid it. Irritating to get an admin charge from the rental company too, but worthy of note that NZ does not appear to allow for any margin of error (speedo/detection equipment calibration). Over the limit is over!!
Edited by cibble10 on Thursday 8th January 09:05
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