Page 2376 - Week 06 - Thursday, 24 June 2010
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Even where persons charged with drink driving successfully pursue a stay of the suspension in order to get their licence restored before their court appearance, they will, nonetheless, serve a minimum period of licence disqualification. This is because the level of their BAC reading will make them ineligible under the new law to apply for a restricted licence during the disqualification period.
The bill provides that, where a person serves a period of immediate licence suspension, the licence disqualification period imposed by the court on conviction will be reduced by the period of licence suspension already served. Even where a person seeks a stay of an immediate licence suspension and succeeds, the process will take a period of time and so one effect of this new provision will be that for high-range offenders there will be an immediate consequence of being caught drink driving—a period of time off the road.
Both the new immediate licence suspension provisions and the tougher rules on eligibility to apply for a restricted licence treat the threshold for high range offending for a full licence holder as 0.1. I can advise the Assembly that there was some consideration in finalising the bill as to whether it should be 0.15, as in some other jurisdictions. However, I am persuaded by a view strongly expressed at the last road safety roundtable, which was that at .1 a person is double the legal limit and it should not be necessary to reach triple the limit to be regarded as a high-range offender.
In addition, there is evidence which clearly demonstrates that the degree of crash risk, including the likelihood that a crash will result in a fatality, rises substantially with increased BAC levels. The degree of crash risk for a driver with a BAC of 0.1 is almost five times that of a driver with no alcohol in their system and double that of a driver with a BAC of .05.
While many of the amendments made by the bill are directed at deterring drink driving through the imposition of restrictions on access to a licence, the package of amendments made by the bill also includes a new initiative to better educate drivers about the dangers and impact of drink driving. New provisions will require every convicted drink driver to complete an alcohol awareness course before the driver can obtain a probationary licence following a period of licence disqualification or be issued a restricted licence where the court is satisfied that it is appropriate to grant such a licence.
There is currently an alcohol education course for drivers available in the ACT. It is the sober driver course run by ADFACT. However, concerns have been raised that, even where the court currently makes an order for a drink driver to complete this course, there is no means of effectively enforcing this requirement. Some persons charged with drink driving enrol in the course before attending court, to improve their prospects of making a case for a restricted licence. However, available information suggests that more than half the people who enrol in the course do not complete it, with many people pulling out as soon as they have a restricted licence or a probationary licence.
Under new provisions included in the bill, all convicted drink drivers and people found guilty of a drink-driving offence will be required to complete an alcohol
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