Drink driving in oz.... need help

chrispym

Hey everybody I'm looking for a bit of advice I was caught drink driving in NSW with a reading of 0.09 (mid range) PCA. Before anybody starts making judgements I know what I done was possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done.

However I need some helpful advice the car I was driving was a work mates and he had told me that it was rego'd until next year when I was pulled I was told the rego had been cancelled three months prior and that it wasn't in his name.

I was clocked at going 167kph in a 110 zone, automatic 6 month suspension of license racked up 3700 dollars in fines and have a court appearance in 2 weeks with the possibility of a further 2200 fine or 9 months imprisonment now I have a clean record and have never been in any sort of trouble with the law in my life.

If anybody has any info on a similar thing happening to them or somebody they know if you could share that with me I would appreciate it a lot and I know I'm not deserving of it. Also if you have any info on section 10 and how it would affect me when I'm applying for my 2nd year visa.

Please Help...

Thanks

ahnowbrowncow

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/madness-lplater-caught-driving-at-160kmh-20121007-276v7.html

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/young-drivers-caught-doing-160kmh/story-e6frea83-1226343921620

That's just some examples I found.

Travelling at 167kph is bad enough but the fact that there is drink involved makes it far worse, plus it not being registered and not in your friends name, have the police said if it was stolen? I'd be looking for a lawyer to be honest

mandrake04

Section 10 is where they drop the charges, you have a lot of charges there drink driving with no Rego/CTP and 57 km/h over the limit.

Unless your friend is willing to cop the non Rego/Insurance of the car you can't really argue it as you the driver is responsible to ensure the car is reg'd, unless you can argue that your judgment was impaired by drink. It would take a very understanding judge to throw that out.

You should just go to court and plead guilty to all charges and pay the fine, you will probably escape jail unless the judge feels that as a visitor you deserve to be made an example of.

the whole year inn

Slighty off topic but i think its still relavant ,i was in court for three charges,one of them serious,i got no conviction mainly because of my solictor ,i was pretty worried and was in the same situation worried and mind racing of the outcome,best advice is try and relax ,worring about it will get you no where,next step get a solicitor,explain what happend to them .by the sounds of it this will cost you cash , so try and take it on the chin.

I hope someone can help you more and i wish you all the best!!

WeeBushy

Get thee to a lawyer/solicitor and seek advice. First stupid thing you did was drink driving, second stupid thing you did was to seek advice on the repercussions from randomers on the internet...

chrispym

mandrake04 wrote: »

Section 10 is where they drop the charges, you have a lot of charges there drink driving with no Rego/CTP and 57 km/h over the limit.

Unless your friend is willing to cop the non Rego/Insurance of the car you can't really argue it as you the driver is responsible to ensure the car is reg'd, unless you can argue that your judgment was impaired by drink. It would take a very understanding judge to throw that out.

You should just go to court and plead guilty to all charges and pay the fine, you will probably escape jail unless the judge feels that as a visitor you deserve to be made an example of.

Thanks for the advice, the only charge against me though is the mid range concentration of alcohol in my system the rest was just for traffic offences which I have already been fined for. But its all in the fact sheet so maybe thats why the judge would be less likely to let me off on the section 10

Also this guy isn't my friend he left me high and dry would it be worth getting a recording of him saying the car was his and why he didnt tell me it wasn't rego'd?

I think I have been appointed a lawyer by the court. Would this affect me getting my 2nd year visa does anybody know?

Sorry about all the questions Ihave already spoken to free legal aid on the phone for both the charges and 2nd year visa issues but have to wait until they get back to me in a few days and was just trying to gain some insight to put my mind at rest.

Peregrinus

chrispym wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, the only charge against me though is the mid range concentration of alcohol in my system the rest was just for traffic offences which I have already been fined for. But its all in the fact sheet so maybe thats why the judge would be less likely to let me off on the section 10

Correct. You’re not likely to get off on s. 10.

chrispym wrote: »

Also this guy isn't my friend he left me high and dry would it be worth getting a recording of him saying the car was his and why he didnt tell me it wasn't rego'd?

Fraught with danger. Before you do anything like that, you’d need to look into NSW law on making clandestine recordings without the subject’s permission, and on the admissibility of such recordings as evidence in a trial. Generally the courts want witnesses to turn up and give evidence in person, so that that they can be challenged and examined on their evidence, and things like tape recordings are only exceptionally admissible. I doubt there’s any mileage in your idea. Just tell the court the truth - that the car was loaned to you by a mate and that you had no idea that it was not registered to him, or that the rego was out of date. There is no reason why the court would disbelieve you on this. And in any case it's not really relevant to the charge.

chrispym wrote: »

I think I have been appointed a lawyer by the court. Would this affect me getting my 2nd year visa does anybody know?

Unless you get a sentence of 12 months or more - which I doubt you will, but your lawyer would know better than I - a drink-driving conviction is not a “serious criminal record” for visa purposes. Arguably, on the basis of this episode they could form the view that you are generally “not of good character”, but my impression is that a single episode of drunken misbehaviour, not involving violence or injury, is probably not enough to torpedo you. So I’d be cautiously optimistic, but I still think you should shell out a few shillings for a consultation with a good migration agent, who can give you up-to-date advice based on recent dealings with the immigration authorities about their current attitude.

mandrake04

chrispym wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, the only charge against me though is the mid range concentration of alcohol in my system the rest was just for traffic offences which I have already been fined for. But its all in the fact sheet so maybe thats why the judge would be less likely to let me off on the section 10

Also this guy isn't my friend he left me high and dry would it be worth getting a recording of him saying the car was his and why he didnt tell me it wasn't rego'd?

I think I have been appointed a lawyer by the court. Would this affect me getting my 2nd year visa does anybody know?

Sorry about all the questions Ihave already spoken to free legal aid on the phone for both the charges and 2nd year visa issues but have to wait until they get back to me in a few days and was just trying to gain some insight to put my mind at rest.

Like advised you would be safer getting yourself a good brief ie. you get what you pay for so maybe worth while spending a bit of cash and avoid public representation (free).

2nd WHV shouldn't be affected as long as you don't owe the government any money so paying the fines off should fix that, although in your position the 2nd WHV would fairly low down on your priority.

ellaq

I am in WA. My friend was recently caught at 0.12, it was her second conviction. She attended court, pleaded guilty and was fined, less than the maximum fine available. She was told she would get prison time if caught again. She had her own brief who didn't charge her because he didn't actually get to do anything. He did prove invaluable later on when she was getting her E licence. No conviction was recorded. She was put off the road for a long time.

Mid range drink driving should not have an impact on your visa.