Whist careless driving (also known as driving with undue care and attention) and dangerous driving charges can result from similar circumstances this is not the case with the penalties with the potential penalty for dangerous driving being much more serious. Both charges can be accompanied with a drink or drug driving charge if the driver tests positive. Careless driving is the less serious of the two charges as it is traffic charge, not a criminal charge, although it can still be punishable with a jail sentence. Depending on circumstances it is possible to obtain a result of no disqualification being…

The penalties handed down for unlicenced driving charges can vary greatly depending on the circumstances on how you came to be unlicenced in the first place. If you forgot to renew your licence or you have never held a licence The penalty for this type of unlicenced driving charge is at the Magistrates discretion and in most circumstances, depending how long your licence had been expired or your traffic history, can result in no suspension being put on your licence and you just receiving a small fine. There are however circumstances where if you were never licenced that the court…

When most people hear DUI they usually associate it with a drink driving charge. Whilst this is correct, as DUI stands for ‘driving under the influence’ it can in fact relate to either a drink or drug driving offence.   There are three levels of drink driving charges, being   Driving with a low BAC (blood alcohol concentrate) reading of between .05 and .099. This charge carries a mandatory minimum of a 1 month suspension of your licence (for an open licence holder).   Driving with a mid BAC (blood alcohol concentrate) reading of between .1 and .149. This charge…

In Queensland police are increasingly undertaking drug driving tests in conjunction with normal drink driving RBT units. Police officers who are able to conduct the drug testing need to be specially trained in the use of saliva testing equipment and testing procedures. The number of Police that are now qualified to conduct the drug tests has increased dramatically in the last few years as well as the addition of 13 specially built drug testing vehicle to Queensland roads. There is going to be an increasing amount of drug driving charges. For example the amount of drug driving tests for the…

Similar to drink driving charges which are categorised as either low, medium or high range, drug driving has different categories in which you can be charged under. If you are charged with drug driving you will either be charged with having a relevant drug in your system or, and more seriously, driving whilst under the influence of a drug. The drug driving tests look for traces of the following drugs being relevant in your system: 1.       THC – the active ingredient in cannabis 2.       Methylamphetamine – also known as speed and ice; and 3.       MDMA – the active ingredient in…

PLEASE NOTE THIS ARTICLE IS NOW OUT OF DATE - THE 21 DAY LIMIT HAS NOW BE REMOVED     A special hardship licence is a type of licence that may be issued by a Queensland Court to persons who travel over the speed limit by more than 40kms over hour (high speed suspension) and/or exceed their points on a good driving behaviour period. There are no other circumstances in which you can apply for a special hardship licence. A special hardship licence allows you to drive during the suspension of your licence (generally 6 months). A special hardship licence can…

Here at Clarity Law we receive enquiries every day from people who have been charged with drink driving in Queensland even though they carefully monitored their alcohol consumption and the time in which did so. Your BAC (breath alcohol concentration) is the measurement of the amount of alcohol in your blood stream. The legal limit in Queensland, for an open licence driver, is 0.05. This means your body can contain 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. What your legal BAC is depends on the class of licence you have. Learners and probationary licence holders have a no…