TRAFFIC LAW
If you have a problem about traffic law, please consult one of our fact sheets or follow our helpful links.
Speeding and Penalites
This fact sheet was correct at the day of authorship being 28 October 2009
The crime of speeding occurs where are driver drives a vehicle at a speed over the limit set for that stretch of road on which the driver is driving.
Speeding penalites may seem somewhat complex, this is because the RTA and the Court may each separately punish the driver through either suspension, disqualification, fines and demerit points. It is also made complex by the fact that both the RTA and the Courts have different 'ranges' of speeding offences which they punish. In addition to this the police may also suspend a driver on the roadside for upto 6 months is the caught the person driving more than 45km'h over the limit.
For a full list of RTA Speeding Fines follow the link below:
RTA Website: Speeding Fines
The RTA is primarily in charge over the demerit point system. The Courts do not have power to make orders in regards to demerit points, they are solely the RTA's jurisdiction.
The courts derive thier authority to punish speeding driver through the Road Rules 2008. A link to this can be found on the home page of our Traffic Law Portal.
Rule 20 is an umbrella rule stating that road users must not drive their vehicles at speeds in excess of the speed limit. Rule 10-2 defines the various offences which fall under this umbrella rule. The 3 speeding offences in the Road Rules 2008 are:
For each offence listed above the maximum fine is 20 penalty units. A penalty unit is currently defined by legislation to be $110. So that the maximum fine for all these offences is $2200. The only exception to this rule is if a driver of a heavy motor vehicle or coach exceeds the speed limit by more than 45km/h, in which case the fine is 30 penalty units or $3300.
What sets the more serious offences apart from the lesser offences is that for the offences of speeding over 30km/h and 45km/h there are disqualification periods which apply.
For the offence of exceeding the speed limit more than 45km/h the disqualification period which applies is 6 months disqualification. The Court must order this disqualification and has power to order a longer disqualification if it so pleases. The Court cannot order a shorter disqualification unless the driver has been served a suspension period for the offence while waiting for the matter to be heard in court.
For the offence of exceeding the speed limit by more than 30km/h the Court must order at least a disqualification of 3 months. The Court has power to extend the disqualification if it thinks fit to do so. The court cannot however shorten the disqualification or make no order for disqualification.
It is important to note that the differences between disqualification, suspension and cancellation. These can be found on our fact sheet regarding disqualification at the link below:
Disqualication, Suspension & Cancellation
These factsheets are provided for the purpose of legal information. They should not be used as a substitute for legal advice. Should you have a specific legal problem, please seek legal advice from a qualified practitioner. The factsheets are correct at the day of their authorship, the author cannot warrant their accuracy past that day. The author cannot be liable for any inaccuracies caused by changes in legislation, common law or policy. The factsheets have been authored with a view as to the law of New South Wales, Australia. These factsheet do not apply to other jurisdictions unless expressly stated.