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Drink Driving Offences

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Section 10 Dismissals

The Daily Telegraph this week ran an article about people who have been charged with various drink driving offences who receive Section 10 dismissals, saying “thousands of people are escaping convictions for drink driving every year”, blaming these statistics on a “legal loophole”.

Unfortunately, this article lacks any true understanding of the legal reasoning behind the concept of Section 10 dismissals and why they exist.

A Section 10 dismissal means that the Court acknowledges that the offence was committed, however in the discretion of the Magistrate decides not to record a conviction because that particular case may have had extenuating circumstances attached to it.

The attitude of the Daily Telegraph seems to be that every person who drinks and drives should be convicted and punished. This concept, similar to mandatory sentencing, has been tried and failed as it does not take into the account that every matter that comes before the Court has with it a unique set of factual circumstances.

Take for example, a person who has been driving for 20 years without a single offence on their record, who is a positive contributor to their community, and an otherwise upstanding citizen. Let’s say they consume two drinks at a bar and believe they are under the threshold to drive, but following a breath test are found to be in the low-range category for drink driving. Imagine further that this person works in a job that requires them to hold a license, and should they lose their license, they will also lose their job. Should this person be so severely punished for what was at worst an error in judgement?

People are not perfect and from time-to-time make mistakes that without the option for discretion on the part of the court system could result in a punishment that is severely disproportionate to the offence they committed.

Our legal system is designed to allow people who are convicted with a criminal offence the opportunity to explain their actions to ensure that more serious offenders are dealt with more harshly than less serious offenders. Section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act allows the Court to exercise some discretion in circumstances where members of society who make mistakes deserve a second chance. It can hardly be described as a “legal loophole” which has with it connotations of inadequacy or cheating the system.

For the most part, serious offences are dealt with by the courts in a serious manner. Unfortunately, some journalists latch on to statistical anomalies that do not tell the whole story or outliers that are the inevitable by-product of an imperfect system when reporting on legal matters.

If you have been charged with an offence by police, contact Complete Legal to discuss your options.

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Criticism of Section 10 Dismissals

The Daily Telegraph this week ran an article about people who have been charged with various drink driving offences who receive Section 10 dismissals, saying “thousands of people are escaping convictions for drink driving every year”, blaming these statistics on a “legal loophole”.

Unfortunately, this article lacks any true understanding of the legal reasoning behind the concept of Section 10 dismissals and why they exist.

A Section 10 dismissal means that the Court acknowledges that the offence was committed, however in the discretion of the Magistrate decides not to record a conviction because that particular case may have had extenuating circumstances attached to it.

The attitude of the Daily Telegraph seems to be that every person who drinks and drives should be convicted and punished. This concept, similar to mandatory sentencing, has been tried and failed as it does not take into the account that every matter that comes before the Court has with it a unique set of factual circumstances.

Take for example, a person who has been driving for 20 years without a single offence on their record, who is a positive contributor to their community, and an otherwise upstanding citizen. Let’s say they consume two drinks at a bar and believe they are under the threshold to drive, but following a breath test are found to be in the low-range category for drink driving. Imagine further that this person works in a job that requires them to hold a license, and should they lose their license, they will also lose their job. Should this person be so severely punished for what was at worst an error in judgement?

People are not perfect and from time-to-time make mistakes that without the option for discretion on the part of the court system could result in a punishment that is severely disproportionate to the offence they committed.

Our legal system is designed to allow people who are convicted with a criminal offence the opportunity to explain their actions to ensure that more serious offenders are dealt with more harshly than less serious offenders. Section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act allows the Court to exercise some discretion in circumstances where members of society who make mistakes deserve a second chance. It can hardly be described as a “legal loophole” which has with it connotations of inadequacy or cheating the system.

For the most part, serious offences are dealt with by the courts in a serious manner. Unfortunately, some journalists latch on to statistical anomalies that do not tell the whole story or outliers that are the inevitable by-product of an imperfect system when reporting on legal matters.

If you have been charged with an offence by police, contact Complete Legal to discuss your options.

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Drink Driving Offences in NSW

One of the most common charges that bring people before the Courts is drink-driving. The Courts have great concern for public safety and as a result do not look kindly on drink drivers, in particular those who have a prior history of drink driving charges.

The three main types of drink-driving charges are:

  • Low Range – Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol (PCA) reading between 0.05-0.079
  • Mid Range Drink Driving- PCA reading between 0.08-0.149
  • High Range Drink Driving- PCA reading of 0.15 or higher.

When a person is found guilty of drink driving the Courts consider a number of factors in deciding what punishment to impose. These factors include whether you have completed a traffic education program, whether you had a reason for driving at the time of the offence, the manner in which you were driving (e.g. were you simply pulled over for a random breath test or driving erratically/dangerously) and your need for a Driver License.

If you are convicted of a drink-driving offence and it is your first offence the following penalties may be imposed:

  • Low Range – $1,100 fine and license disqualification of 3-6 months
  • Mid Range – $2,200 fine, maximum prison sentence of 9 months and license disqualification of 6-12 months
  • High Range – $3,300 fine, maximum prison sentence of 18 months, license disqualification of 6-9 months and a 2 year interlock period.

“Interlock” refers to the mandatory installation of an interlock device on your vehicle which will not permit you to operate the vehicle if you have any alcohol in your system. If you have to serve a mandatory interlock period you cannot drive any vehicle that does not have an interlock device fitted.

If you are charged with more than one drink-driving offence during any five year period the penalties are much more severe and mandatory interlock periods apply to any offence that is not a first offence.

Think twice before driving a car with alcohol in your system. Not only do you have safety to consider, but the penalties can be quite significant. If you have found yourself on the wrong side of the law, contact Complete Legal and Conveyancing for some advice.