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- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 792
- Location
- Darwin, Australia
Well i know this may not be of any interest to you guys, but in the next 3 months the Northern Territory will be the last part of Australia to introduce demerit points on a driving licence.
The points sytem goes as follows:
DEMERIT points will come into force within three months in the Territory as part of a road safety legislation blitz.
A graduated driver licensing system for P-plate and L-plate drivers will commence in July.
Legislation expected to be introduced today will include demerit points with the standard punishments for the following offences from September 1:
SPEEDING (1-6 points).
IGNORING a red light (3 points).
IGNORING a level crossing signal (3 points).
DRIVING without a seatbelt (3 points).
DRINK-driving (3 points).
TALKING on a mobile phone (3 points).
DRIVING without an L-plate or P plate (2 points).
HOONING - including speed racing and burnouts (3 points).
Transport Minister Delia Lawrie said these offences made up 87 per cent of all fines issues by police last year.
"These demerit points will affect recidivist bad drivers who like to hoon around," she said.
"This will not affect mum and dad drivers who drive carefully."
Ms Lawrie said she believed that less than 1 per cent of demerit points recorded in the Territory would cause drivers to lose their licences.
Territory drivers will have their licence suspended if they accumulate 12 demerit points or more over three years.
New drivers on L-plate and P-plates face similar penalties at five points or more within a year.
Suspensions range from three to five months.
Opposition Transport spokeswoman Faye Miller said demerit points are not relevant to the Territory.
"Hoons will still hoon and people will still speed whether there is a demerit system or not," she said.
She did not believe demerit points had saved a life anywhere in Australia.
Parliament will also debate amendments to the Traffic Act and Motor Vehicles Act to introduce the first phase of graduated driver licensing from July.
Drivers under 25 years on P-plates would hold them for two years and new drivers over the age of 25 would have to hold P-plates for 12 months.
So, Drink driving is as bad as pretty much anything else in regards to motoring offences. Not surprising that the NT has the worst accident record in the developed world!
The points sytem goes as follows:
DEMERIT points will come into force within three months in the Territory as part of a road safety legislation blitz.
A graduated driver licensing system for P-plate and L-plate drivers will commence in July.
Legislation expected to be introduced today will include demerit points with the standard punishments for the following offences from September 1:
SPEEDING (1-6 points).
IGNORING a red light (3 points).
IGNORING a level crossing signal (3 points).
DRIVING without a seatbelt (3 points).
DRINK-driving (3 points).
TALKING on a mobile phone (3 points).
DRIVING without an L-plate or P plate (2 points).
HOONING - including speed racing and burnouts (3 points).
Transport Minister Delia Lawrie said these offences made up 87 per cent of all fines issues by police last year.
"These demerit points will affect recidivist bad drivers who like to hoon around," she said.
"This will not affect mum and dad drivers who drive carefully."
Ms Lawrie said she believed that less than 1 per cent of demerit points recorded in the Territory would cause drivers to lose their licences.
Territory drivers will have their licence suspended if they accumulate 12 demerit points or more over three years.
New drivers on L-plate and P-plates face similar penalties at five points or more within a year.
Suspensions range from three to five months.
Opposition Transport spokeswoman Faye Miller said demerit points are not relevant to the Territory.
"Hoons will still hoon and people will still speed whether there is a demerit system or not," she said.
She did not believe demerit points had saved a life anywhere in Australia.
Parliament will also debate amendments to the Traffic Act and Motor Vehicles Act to introduce the first phase of graduated driver licensing from July.
Drivers under 25 years on P-plates would hold them for two years and new drivers over the age of 25 would have to hold P-plates for 12 months.
So, Drink driving is as bad as pretty much anything else in regards to motoring offences. Not surprising that the NT has the worst accident record in the developed world!
