LHR/MEL/Europe FF

If you have been flashed by a camera, there will be a photograph. This makes it difficult to ask someone else to accept the fine for you (aside from being against the law!)

Depending on how fast, exactly, you were going, the fine will either be $800 or $1000. Depending on the day you were caught, demerit point applied might then mean your boss would lose her licence (or come close to it). So that's probably not an option either.

If you were more than 40km/hr, the police can also impound the car.

Either way, I suspect when your boss receives the notice, she'll have little option but to nominate the driver (you).

Details of WA speeding fines, and more information can be found here: http://rsc.wa.gov.au/Road-Rules-Penalties/Speeding

thadocta

No mention about not having a licence, only mention is not having an Australian or British licence, so your comment is not relevant. And if the driver is licenced, then the insurance is still valid, so that is not relevant either.

Agree - just cop the fine and wear it, you were being a d1ckh34d, driving at that speed in that zone. You did the crime, now do the fine, don't let your boss cop the demerit points on their licence.

Dave

SpannerSpinner

S/He is from the UK (presumably GB), so if s/he doesn't have a UK licence or an Australian licence then s/he probably doesn't have any licence..

If the car is a personal vehicle there is not much you can do AFAIK. If its registered in the company name and your boss is willing to lie and say they don't know who was driving there is the option of paying double (or triple?) the original fine and nobody gets points. But that's going to take several thousand dollars, and a sympathetic boss who is willing to break the law for you. And if you really were more than 40 over the limit , forget it, you probably just got yourself fired and the bosses car impounded.

bensyd

Just so I understand, you're unlicensed and doing almost twice the limit? I think the laws around speeding in Australia are retarded, but you should just be lucky you didn't kill anyone. And now you expect your boss to lose their license because of it? Good luck. I'd say you're out of a job.

Fastandstupid

Hi again guys,

If I own up to it and take the fine etc (which after a lot of deliberation is what I'm going to do), what is likely to happen to me?
I have no problem paying the fine etc, I'm more worried about being deported because I was driving without a license.

And like I said previously, I know what I was doing was stupid. No need to tell me again.

BadgerBoi

It's not really your place to dictate what people "need" to tell you.

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

I don't know what the outcome will be. Driving without a licence by itself probably isn't going to get you deported, although you may be subject to a fine or other community based order. Taking a motor vehicle without permission (theft), and driving at the speed you say you were going may result in charges being brought against you. How that affects your future request for a visa to australia may be an issue.

It's probably best if you find yourself a lawyer to help you out with this. They can advise what you need to do for both the fine, and any potential criminal charges.

bensyd

Speak to a lawyer.

Exec_Plat

Finally....decent advice.

:D!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-2...-fraud/6880742

Came across this article recently. It claims that NSW policy is just to let foreign drivers get away with speeding.

I was quite sure that I got stung by a mobile speed trap last year, but never received anything from the RMS or the rental agency; maybe this is why.

CPMaverick

I think you took a slightly incorrect conclusion from the article. It isn't that they have a policy to 'let foreign drivers get away with speeding.' In Australia if your vehicle is caught in a camera or toll speed trap, you have the option to nominate a driver other than yourself. The article is specifically about when someone caught nominates a foreign licensee as the driver. In this case they still seek payment for the fine- they just don't confirm license/DOB details. The concern in the article is that no demerit points are allocated, and presumably it is a shady deal where the foreigner 'accepts' punishment but maybe the Australian pays the fine. "There are people here who seem to be committing offences, who are not being properly penalised, not losing their points and their licences"

It is true that if gone unpaid, it is difficult to follow up, but I think in these cases where an international driver is nominated, the ticket is probably paid as the real driver is happy for it to go away and not earn demerit points. If it is unpaid, the ticket could escalate, not what the vehicle owner wants.

I can tell you personally before I moved to Australia (I am a migrant here), I got a ticket in NSW from a motorbike officer. He didn't give me a ticket on the spot, but got my hotel details and photographed my overseas licence. They mailed a ticket to my hotel. So my direct experience is that they certainly do NOT let overseas drivers get away with speeding.

falconx

Did you pay it though at the end? I mean, what are they gonna do if you are already back to your own country? Yes, they have the photograph of your overseas license and can keep sending infringement notices to the hotel or address in your home country, so what? What kind of further enforcement action can they take?

CPMaverick

Well, technically they could put a warrant out for your arrest eventually. Highly unlikely they would pursue it across borders, but if you entered the country again you could be arrested or deported. Not saying any of this would happen, but it is possible.

If you see no moral reason to pay the fine, then I think there is a reasonable chance you could get away with ignoring it. But for me, yes I paid it because it was the right thing to do, but also because I don't want something like that potentially following me around and surprising me later in life. A $250 fine can turn into $10000+ pretty quickly if it escalates to legal proceedings.

bensyd

In NSW to get to the point of being arrested you would pretty much have had to go to court (having already had your license suspended and the registration of any vehicles in your name cancelled for not paying the fine), show that you don't own property that the NSW Sheriff could seize, and for whatever reason a garnishee order would cause hardship, then be issued with a Community Service Order and then not turn up for community service. At that point a warrant could be issued and you could in theory be sent to gaol. My criminal solicitor friend tells me that no one has made it to gaol for unpaid traffic fines in the last 20 years. It's a very long chain, and in all likelihood the debt would have been sold to a debt collector unless it is a large amount or it's at the more serious end of the spectrum.

I'm not suggesting the OP does anything, just providing a bit of background.

falconx

Do you by any chance know how the debt collection agency works? For example, if I received an infringement notice from Queensland after I had come back to my own country. If the debt collection agent has a branch in my city, would they pursue the debt by harassing me according based on address?