At Precinct Legal, we understand that facing a loss of a licence can lead to devastating impacts on your employment or family. Traffic law is a complex area that requires considered, strategic legal advice to achieve good results. Our experienced Newcastle and Sydney Traffic Lawyers have a high success rate and attend court daily, meaning we are familiar with the procedures, tendencies, and nuances of various courts. This local court knowledge can make a significant difference in achieving successful results.
If you are unhappy with a decision made by Service NSW or the police to suspend your licence, you can elect to take the case to court in order to get your licence back or have your suspension period reduced. This is known as a licence appeal. It is important to seek expert legal advice in relation to a licence appeal, as you only get one shot. Understanding the law and the various points that must be raised during an appeal proceeding requires detailed accuracy to ensure a good outcome.
The various penalties for drink driving can range from minor fines to imprisonment, depending on the reading results and the circumstances of the offence. Drink driving is treated with great seriousness, and the court takes a zero-tolerance approach to penalties. To ensure your case is presented with the best possible chance for a favourable outcome, retaining a traffic lawyer is imperative. Our expert lawyers regularly appear in court for clients charged with DUI-related offences and achieve exceptional results.
Drug driving involves driving with an illicit substance in your system, such as THC cannabis, MDMA, amphetamines or cocaine. It is different to a DUI charge as the prosecution is not required to prove that you actually were affected by the drugs at the time of driving– it is enough that you had simply had drugs in your system. The penalties can vary depending on the nature of the offence and may include a criminal conviction. Legal advice and representation are recommended to increase the likelihood of avoiding a criminal conviction.
Driving without a valid driver’s licence is one of the most common traffic offences prosecuted in NSW.
Driving without a valid licence can result in harsh penalties that affect your ability to work, travel, and obtain a licence in the future, and can attract a maximum term of imprisonment of 6 months. Strategic attention to detail is required to prepare your case properly in order to maximise the prospects of a non-conviction order
Reckless driving refers to situations where you drive in a manner that creates an ‘obvious and serious risk of causing physical injury to any other road user or substantial damage to property,’ and can attract a penalty of 9 months imprisonment. Facing a reckless driving charge can lead to lengthy disqualification periods and other consequences that can affect your employment or family. You can give yourself the best chance at avoiding these harsh penalties by enlisting the help of an experienced traffic lawyer who has the knowledge necessary to effectively address the charges and secure a successful outcome in your case.
Skye’s law was an amendment to the Crimes Act after 19-month-old Skye Sassine was tragically killed during a police chase on New Year’s Eve 2009, when two alleged robbers crashed into the car that she was travelling in. Since then, courts have treated police pursuit allegations very seriously, imposing harsh penalties, including imprisonment. If you are facing a charge related to a police pursuit, legal advice is imperative.
Using a mobile phone while driving is an offence which prescribe fines and demerit points for drivers who hold, turn on or off, or operate any function of a mobile phone while driving in New South Wales, unless an exception applies. While the offence may seem minor, it carries 5 demerit points and can lead to a licence suspension, which can significantly impact a person’s ability to maintain employment. Our experienced traffic lawyers are well aware of the potential impact of losing a licence, and have a long and proven track record of consistently achieving great outcomes for mobile phone related offences,
Traffic law in New South Wales, governed primarily by the Road Transport Act 2013 and the Road Rules 2014, provides several legal defences that can be invoked in the right cases to see charges dismissed, penalties reduced, or convictions avoided entirely. Our Team of Traffic Lawyers practice in all areas of Traffic Law in NSW and regularly achieve successful outcomes for our clients.
One of the most powerful defences in traffic law is the defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact. This applies when you genuinely believed something to be true, and that belief was reasonable in the circumstances, leading you to commit the offence unintentionally. For strict liability offences, the prosecution does NOT need to prove intent—just that the act occurred. However, if you can show you made an honest and reasonable mistake, the defence may be enlivened. It is important to remember that the bar for discharging this defence is high in the case of a strict liability offence, and expert legal representation is essential when considering this option.
For many traffic offences detected by cameras (e.g., speeding, toll evasion), the prosecution must prove the person named on a fine was in fact the driver. If the prosecution fails to prove this, then the charge can be dismissed.
Sometimes, situations arise where the fault is not with you. In the case of a vehicle or mechanical malfunction, such as a brake failure causing a crash, this defence can be raised to challenge the prosecution's evidence against you.
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