South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts81C—Disqualification for certain drink driving offences
(1) This section
applies to an alleged category 1 offence against section 47B(1) of the
Road Traffic Act 1961 other than an offence where—
(a) the
vehicle involved is alleged to have been a prescribed vehicle within the
meaning of section 47A of that Act; and
(b) the
concentration of alcohol in the blood of the person is alleged to have been
less than .05 grams in 100 millilitres of blood.
(2) If a person
expiates an offence to which this section applies, the Registrar must, on
becoming aware of that fact, give the person written notice—
(a)
that, commencing on the day on which the notice takes effect in accordance
with section 139BD, the person is disqualified from holding or
obtaining a licence or learner's permit for the "relevant period" being—
(i)
if the offence is a second offence—3 months; or
(ii)
if the offence is a third offence—6 months; or
(iii)
if the offence is a subsequent offence—12 months;
and
(b)
that, if the person holds any licence or learner's permit when the notice
takes effect, the licence or permit is cancelled.
(3)
Subsection (2) does not apply if the information available to the
Registrar at the time indicates that the alleged offence is not a second,
third or subsequent offence.
(a) a
person expiates an offence to which this section applies (the
"later offence"); and
(b)
the Registrar subsequently becomes aware that the person has been convicted of
or expiated another offence to which this section applies (the
"previous offence") that was committed or allegedly committed before the
later offence; and
(c) if
the person had been convicted of or expiated the previous offence before they
expiated the later offence (and if such information had been available to
the Registrar at the time the Registrar became aware of the expiation of the
later offence)—
(i)
the person would have been given a notice under
subsection (2) disqualifying them from holding or obtaining a licence or
learner's permit for the relevant period; or
(ii)
the relevant period for which the person would have been
disqualified by the notice under subsection (2) would have been longer,
the Registrar must, on becoming aware of that fact, give the person written
notice that—
(d) the
person is disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence or learner's
permit—
(i)
in a case where paragraph (c)(i) applies—for
the relevant period; or
(ii)
in any other case—for the prescribed additional
period; and
(e) if
the person holds a licence or learner's permit when the notice takes
effect—the licence or permit is cancelled.
(5) The regulations
may prescribe circumstances in which subsection (4) will not apply or may
modify the operation of subsection (4) in prescribed circumstances.
(7) In determining
whether an offence to which this section applies is a first, second, third or
subsequent offence for the purposes of this section, any previous
drink driving offence or drug driving offence for which the person has been
convicted or that the person has expiated will be taken into account, but only
if the previous offence was committed or, in the case of an offence that has
been expiated, was alleged to have been committed, by the person within the
prescribed period immediately preceding the date on which the offence to which
this section applies is alleged to have been committed.
(8) For the purposes
of subsection (7), the prescribed period is—
(a) in
the case of a previous offence that is a category 1 offence—3 years;
(b) in
any other case—5 years.
(9) For the purposes
of this section, the "prescribed additional period for which a person is
disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence or learner's permit by
written notice under subsection (4)—
(a)
commences at the time the notice takes effect in accordance with
section 139BD; and
(b) ends
at the end of the period equal to the difference between the following:
(i)
the relevant period for which the person would have been
disqualified by the notice under subsection (2) if the person had been
convicted of or expiated the previous offence before they expiated the
later offence;
(ii)
the relevant period for which the person was disqualified
by the notice given to them under subsection (2).
(10) If a person
expiates more than 1 offence to which this section applies at the same
time, the person will, for the purposes of this section, be taken to have
expiated the offences sequentially in the order in which the offences were
allegedly committed (and the offences may be dealt with under this section
accordingly).
(11) For the avoidance
of doubt, a person may be given a notice under this section in relation to a
second, third or subsequent offence regardless of whether or not the person
had been convicted of or expiated the previous offence or offences at the time
of commission of the second, third or subsequent offence.