melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Hi All. I have trawled through some of the posts on here and found out snippets of information, but I cannot find a definitive answer to my query so I thought that I would create this thread. Basically I came here on a 457 visa with my defacto partner about 18 months ago. Recently I decided to buy a car (got finance to run until my visa expires). To get the car it was easier to transfer over to a Victorian licence, which I did with no problem. Since getting the car, my partner has racked up 3 speeding tickets (all in the space of 2 weeks and getting them in one go). The first was $500+ for 35 km over on a freeway, the second $400 for 25km/h over on a freeway and the last was for $180 for 3km/h over the limit. I have tranferred over the first 2 to my partner who is still on a UK licence. I know that speeding is wrong - it took us by suprise that, for the most part, you don't get that (almost) 10mph over the speed limit with no repercussions. It's not something we can afford in one go either. To compound matters, we are looking at getting PR soon (work agreed). If this happens, my partner would need to transfer their licence over within 6months of this being granted. When assigning the notices to my partner, i was unable to put the full licence number in the box. My questions are these: 1. If my partner changes their licence over will those points definitely be on their VIC one or will the fact that the full licence number wasnt recorded work in our favour? 2. If we changed over the licence in a different state or New zealand, could we circumvent accuring those points if the answer to the above question 1 is that it will 3. Will Vic roads let me me off the last ticket (less than 10km/h) if i write and plead my case about having a clean record and not doing it again? It's all a bit of a nightmare. We've never had speeding tickets in the UK and it's taking a lot to adjust to the extremely slow speed limits here. Ever since getting the notices we have both just stuck to below the speed limit (much to the annoyance of a lot of drivers). I still worry that this is not enough and it worries me to my stomach that I might accidentily stray 3km/h over the limit and get presented with another fine. Any response/first hand accounts on this would be a massive help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Also will Vic roads be ok with a payment plan for the first 2 fines for my partner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 How can you 'transfer' over two speeding tickets to your partner and keep one for yourself? That is illegal. You said that your partner committed ALL of the speeding offences and yet you are are going to claim one of them and try and get it waived...... To be honest if you can't afford the fines then tell your partner to stop speeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I think the points would be transferred to your partners licence when he gets one and applying in another State for his licence wont work as he would A- have to prove his address in that state which would be hard if you dont actually live there and B - would still need to get a licence for where he actually lives within a few months anyway, the points take longer than that to expire. I think its best to put it down to experience, abide by the rules and suck it up if his licence does come complete with points. I cant see them refusing you a payment plan if you cant pay it all in one go but contact them to make the arrangements. Have you got a Sat Nav fitted,, hubby went through a spell a while back of having a 'heavy foot' lol, so i bought him the most annoying Sat Nav that told him ''you are going over the speed limit' every time he did it,,, lol, it worked and slowed him down so may be worth a try. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 You can choose to nominate the driver or accept the fine and points yourself. I was asking for advice not judgement. Clearly speeding is wrong and I was in no way condoning it, I was just wondering what the options were if anyone had experience in this area. We haven't sped since. The fines are excessive regardless of how strongly you feel about speeding. We won't do it again, but I can't afford the 3 we got in one go, hence my post. The last fine was coming down a hill - changing down gears to adjust the speed of the car as it's a manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Thanks Cal. I thought as much. Steep learning curve for both of us after perfect driving records in the UK! I just thought that instead of looking at the Vic roads records for international licences, it might circumvent that if we got a nsw one and transferred it over to a Victorian one as the licence would already be Registered in Australia (albeit a different state). It's a possibility that we would delay cutting over to pr status so that the points would have expired or would be best to expired especially as one of them carried a 6month suspension. We have both now made every conscious effort not to speed At All. I appreciate the non - judgemental tone. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Thanks Cal. I thought as much. Steep learning curve for both of us after perfect driving records in the UK! I just thought that instead of looking at the Vic roads records for international licences, it might circumvent that if we got a nsw one and transferred it over to a Victorian one as the licence would already be Registered in Australia (albeit a different state). It's a possibility that we would delay cutting over to pr status so that the points would have expired or would be best to expired especially as one of them carried a 6month suspension. We have both now made every conscious effort not to speed At All. I appreciate the non - judgemental tone. Thank you You're asking for advice on how to dodge penalties you were due. As readers we're entitled to our judgements on whether we think you're awesome for it or not.:policeman: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Thanks Cal. I thought as much. Steep learning curve for both of us after perfect driving records in the UK! I just thought that instead of looking at the Vic roads records for international licences, it might circumvent that if we got a nsw one and transferred it over to a Victorian one as the licence would already be Registered in Australia (albeit a different state). It's a possibility that we would delay cutting over to pr status so that the points would have expired or would be best to expired especially as one of them carried a 6month suspension. We have both now made every conscious effort not to speed At All. I appreciate the non - judgemental tone. Thank you Maybe you just never got caught in the UK!! They dont just hand them out like sweeties - you do need to provide proof of address etc. Just pay your fines and stop trying to break the law, you will get found out in the end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 To get PR you have to prove your of good character too, not sure how easy that would be if you're caught doing something illegal. I'd just cop it and get on with it if it were me. 35k over is a lot too so she must have known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 At what point did I say I wanted to dodge the penalties? We are going to pay the fines. I wasn't ranting and raving that I wouldn't make the payments, more on whether the demerit points definitely carry over when the licence is transferred and if there was a way to not have them transferred over. Any points that a person might have in their own country does not affect their licence in another so I was genuinely asking if it would be missed off. The other forums and posts were about people trying to avoid paying the fines. I wanted to know whether it would be best for us to stay with our current licences so that my partner can continue to drive (within speed limits) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 We're accepting the fines and I will not break the speed limits. The difference from miles to km, the large difference in actual speed on different roads and the difference in how the authorities deal with speeding is very different. it has been a steep learning curve and we know not to speed. In the UK we both kept to speed limits, but felt OK if you were overtaking or going down a hill that you might be slightly over, but would be completely fine as it was within the tolerance. I was asking to see what the best solution would be in terms of what driver's licence we should use for my partner in the short term. If you had the choice of having a clean licence or one with demerit points, it's obvious which one you would choose. So the answers have been helpful in that regard. If I was posting asking how to get out of the fines then I could understand the animosity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 It's not illegal to transfer a licence over without demerit points being applied. We are copping it. i think there is some misunderstanding - we accept the fines and are going to pay it, just wondering if anyone else was in a similar situation and had the demerit points passed over when they transferred over their licence. If it definitely does, then we could consider staying on the UK licence until the demerit points have elapsed. We were overtaking a convoy of lorries at the time (not an excuse, we accept that it was speeding), but the fine is staggering when you compare it to the UK and that's why we were shocked. We will keep within the speed limits at all times, even if it results in unsafe situations such as overtaking a convoy of lorries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 We will keep within the speed limits at all times, even if it results in unsafe situations such as overtaking a convoy of lorries. If it's not safe to overtake without speeding, it is not safe - simples really. (clean licence in the UK, four points since arriving here. I now drive better). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 I disagree, but will stay within the limits. I appreciate where everyone is coming from and will not speed. It will take a change in driving behaviour which we have already adopted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 We're accepting the fines and I will not break the speed limits. The difference from miles to km, the large difference in actual speed on different roads and the difference in how the authorities deal with speeding is very different. it has been a steep learning curve and we know not to speed. In the UK we both kept to speed limits, but felt OK if you were overtaking or going down a hill that you might be slightly over, but would be completely fine as it was within the tolerance. I was asking to see what the best solution would be in terms of what driver's licence we should use for my partner in the short term. If you had the choice of having a clean licence or one with demerit points, it's obvious which one you would choose. So the answers have been helpful in that regard. If I was posting asking how to get out of the fines then I could understand the animosity Sorry but that is a weak excuse - the difference in km and miles???? You bought your car here and as such the speedometer will show km speed, as will the road signs. Three times speeding in the space of two weeks is silly and you have been here 18 months, plenty of time to get used to the road rules here. Pay the fine and don't try to dodge the demerit points (as you clearly stated you wanted to do) by getting your licence in another state, it's not on and won't work. Suck it up as someone else said and don't speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 If it's not safe to overtake without speeding, it is not safe - simples really. (clean licence in the UK, four points since arriving here. I now drive better). When you get to 9 points ,you get an official letter telling you, you are a very naughty boy and are on your last warning so change your ways,lol.. You do have to change your driving ways when you move here, or at least some of us do, all hubbys 'incidents' happened within a short period of time not long after we arrived here, so you do learn quick, albeit the hard way! Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 A mile is longer than a km (1.6 km to be exact). Maintaining something within a 1 mph variance is easier than 1 km/h. In addition, the difference between the mph allowances e.g. 50, 60, 70 mph equates to a difference of 10mph between different zones. Here the difference is 10km/h, which is 6.1 mph difference, so a slight variance in speed has a greater impact. Coupled with the allowed limits on a freeway in the UK (70mph + 3 miles + 10%) would give you a 10mph variance. The allowed variance from the speed on the freeway is 1.8 mph. As I have previously stated, I accept we were speeding. We hadn't driven in Australia before buying the car (stop assuming things) so we hadn't got used to the laws/acceptability here. We have now learnt and will continue to keep within the strict speed limits. I am not condoning speeding, just explaining that the fines were received straight after getting the car and we have now adopted a different driving practice in Australia. Ergh, the fines ARE going to be paid. I guess you choose to misread things. In fact, we can dodge the demerit points, because Victoria allows drivers to use their UK licences while on a 457. Vic Roads has no authority over UK licences, so these are not applied. If you had the choice of using a licence without demerit points or using one with demerit points, I am sure if would be an easy decision. I was asking whether if we transferred over to an Australian licence these would definitely apply, otherwise we will continue to use the UK licence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbourne1988 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Yup. We've definitely learnt the hard way. It's hard changing your mentality to driving, but the tickets have woken us up to it. We don't speed any more as it's not worth the time or effort. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 A mile is longer than a km (1.6 km to be exact). Maintaining something within a 1 mph variance is easier than 1 km/h. In addition, the difference between the mph allowances e.g. 50, 60, 70 mph equates to a difference of 10mph between different zones. Here the difference is 10km/h, which is 6.1 mph difference, so a slight variance in speed has a greater impact. Coupled with the allowed limits on a freeway in the UK (70mph + 3 miles + 10%) would give you a 10mph variance. The allowed variance from the speed on the freeway is 1.8 mph. As I have previously stated, I accept we were speeding. We hadn't driven in Australia before buying the car (stop assuming things) so we hadn't got used to the laws/acceptability here. We have now learnt and will continue to keep within the strict speed limits. I am not condoning speeding, just explaining that the fines were received straight after getting the car and we have now adopted a different driving practice in Australia. Ergh, the fines ARE going to be paid. I guess you choose to misread things. In fact, we can dodge the demerit points, because Victoria allows drivers to use their UK licences while on a 457. Vic Roads has no authority over UK licences, so these are not applied. If you had the choice of using a licence without demerit points or using one with demerit points, I am sure if would be an easy decision. I was asking whether if we transferred over to an Australian licence these would definitely apply, otherwise we will continue to use the UK licence. I did not choose to misread things at all. In your original post you wanted to try and get the third fine waived by saying it was your first speeding ticket - yet all three speeding offences were actually committed by your partner and not you. Hmmmm, I think they would be suspicious of that as all speeding occurred in the same car, they do keep records.... Not only did you say you wanted to try and get out of the last fine, you also were looking at ways of getting out of demerit points awarded in this country, not the UK. It was very clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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