Christmas is a time of celebration and with joyful celebrations, comes a few drinks and silly behaviour. Road users however should be aware that over the holiday period, various Road Traffic offences are subject to double demerits, including but not limited to:

• drink or drug driving;
• speeding;
• failing to wear a seat belt and child restraint;
• vehicle registration issues;
• running a red light; and
• illegal use of a mobile phone while driving.

In Western Australia, the double demerit points period for the 2019/2020 Christmas and New Year period is from Friday 20 December 2019 to Sunday 5 January 2020 inclusive.

Whilst in the other states such as New South Wales, drivers have 14 demerit points to use, in Western Australia they only have 12. This means, you could end up losing your licence and incurring a huge fine based on one incident. For example, a WA driver was caught speeding at more than double the speed limit. The driver was given 7 demerit points which doubled instantly thus suspending his licence in one go and having the demerit points immediately roll over onto any subsequent licence he may hold.

If you are unsure of how many points you may have, you can check your demerit point status on the Department of Transport website. You will need your driver’s licence number, date of birth and licence expiry date to complete the status check.

In addition to losing points and receiving fines, you could also see yourself losing your licence in its entirety. Additionally, police can impound cars of drivers who exceed the speed limit by more than 45km/h.

Most of us drive every day. Your vehicle may be your primary source of transport and/or income. While any sort of legal charges can be stressful, the importance of transport in our day to day lives can make driving offences even more stressful. Our team can help get you back on the road sooner.

Instructing the right lawyer to look after you is critical to obtaining a good result. At FourLion Legal, we help clients facing a range of charges under the Criminal Code and Road Traffic Act, including but not limited to:

If you happen to find yourself charged with a driving offence, our lawyers at FourLion Legal are available to assist you.

Please do not hesitate to our friendly our team on (08) 9335 6643 or email us at reception@fourlionlegal.com.au if you are looking for assistance with your criminal and/or traffic offences.

From the team at FourLion Legal, we wish you all a very safe and happy festive season and a prosperous New Year!

Grace Ritter
Solicitor
FourLion Legal

19 November 2019