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Old Dec 18, 2006, 11:40 am
  #1  
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Traffic ticket from Melbourne

Hi guys,
Not sure this is the right forum.
I was in australia back in oct. Did the Great Ocean Road drive with a rental car. Apparently I was speeding and got caught by the traffic camera around Princess Highway. Surprisingly they tracked me down and sent a traffic ticket to Los Angeles =(
Anyway, do you think I can get away with not paying it? hahaha.
Will I get points on my driver license in US?
Any thought will be greatly appreciated. CHeers.
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Old Dec 18, 2006, 11:45 am
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Just did that myself in Nov and fortunately was warned about the cameras.

If you never plan to go back to Australia, the only consequence would probably be if they go back to the rental car company and asses the ticket to them and then the car company charges it through to you on your credit card.

I know when we rented from Hertz they specifically said if there were any unpaid tolls (similar system) that we would be liable and they would charge it through to us. I dont remember if the same applied to speeding tickets, but it certainly could.
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Old Dec 18, 2006, 12:32 pm
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A friend of mine did this in 2003 and I know he never paid it. He may have had more than one.

I don't think anything happened to him, but if it were me, and the price was reasonable, I'd pay it.

Of course, he's probably never going to go back to Oz, whereas I've been back twice since.
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Old Dec 18, 2006, 6:48 pm
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The rental company will probably end up charging your card. You will not loose points on your US driving liscence.
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Old Dec 18, 2006, 7:01 pm
  #5  
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Originally Posted by bensyd
The rental company will probably end up charging your card. You will not loose points on your US driving liscence.
and the surcharge or management fees for taking care of the ticket.

i'd say pay up!
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Old Dec 18, 2006, 8:50 pm
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As others have mentioned, check your rental agreement. It probably discusses tickets, our did. When we got the ticket, we immediately got a bill from the rental company for a charge associated with providing them with our identity. Though the ticket was dismissed, we never got that money back.

How much over the limit were you. If it wasn't much, they might let it go (ours was 10 kph over).
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Old Dec 19, 2006, 12:11 am
  #7  
 
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There is a process where if you admit speeding and have had good behaviour, your first Victorian speed camera fine may be waived.

http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/CA256E...time+warnings~

May be worth pursuing. Note you have to admit to have been speeding, and also have been booked for less than 10Km over the limit.

Your rental car company will probably charge you a handling fee (maybe $33 AUD?) for giving your details to the police.

Oh, and I know this from doing some research recently... I may be in the same boat !!

Only if you hold an Australian license will your points be deducted. As for whether you should pay - that is up to you. Make sure you think about the possible consequences of ignoring the fine.

There are some other threads on this forum about the same topic. May be worth reading through them.


(Oh, and for anyone currently in Victoria - do you know the issuing time for tickets at the moment? is it 2 days, 1 week etc? )

Last edited by Aus_Mal; Dec 19, 2006 at 1:59 am
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Old Dec 19, 2006, 12:55 pm
  #8  
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Thanks for all of the responses

Hi guys,
Thanks for the suggestions! I guess I will pay up! hahaha. It's not that much, AUD215! I went over 11km/h. I wish I had known about the cameras.
Oh well, there goes my xmas present to Australia =)
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Old Dec 29, 2006, 2:50 am
  #9  
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Originally Posted by exc3ll
Hi guys,
Thanks for the suggestions! I guess I will pay up! hahaha. It's not that much, AUD215! I went over 11km/h. I wish I had known about the cameras.
Oh well, there goes my xmas present to Australia =)
fwiw, you would have been timed at 14kph over the limit; they automativally deduct 3kmh and to provide an alleged speed.

The hire car company will already have deducted that AUD33 or so handling fee off your CC.
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Old Jan 6, 2007, 7:23 pm
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I once got a parking ticket and a speeding fine in Perth and Sydney within an hour of each other (exactly how this happened is a mystery to me to this day) - and I got letters about both on the same day. Needless to say, I managed to avoid them both, and neither was I charged a fee by the rental car company.
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Old Jan 6, 2007, 9:02 pm
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Originally Posted by perthite
I once got a parking ticket and a speeding fine in Perth and Sydney within an hour of each other (exactly how this happened is a mystery to me to this day) - and I got letters about both on the same day. Needless to say, I managed to avoid them both, and neither was I charged a fee by the rental car company.
Not sure how long ago you are talking about, but this has become standard car rental language I believe.
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