A mother was heavily penalized for drink driving twice and driving without a license

Catriona Anne Williams’ first drink driving offence was committed on January 6, 1 PM at Tewantin when she got involved in a traffic incident. By the time the police caught up with Williams she was already driving into the garage of a Cooroy home. Williams attempted to escape from the police and hid behind the fence of a neighbour’s yard.

When she was finally caught, police said that Williams smelled of liquor and registered a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.058. She was immediately suspended from driving for 24 hours and charged with a drink driving offence.

Williams committed a second drink driving offence at 10 PM on the same day and committed another offence which is driving without a license. Despite that her license was already suspended, Williams still drove her car and she failed to way to a police car at Red Hill Road in Gympie. This time the BAC of Williams was at 0.057.

The court heard all that the police had to report and more because it was also found out that Williams was previously placed on probation for drink driving offences committed in 2008 and 2009. 

Williams was charged with two counts of drink driving and driving without a license to which she all pleaded guilty.

The penalty imposed by the court for the first drink driving offence committed on January 6 at 1 PM was 12 months probation and disqualification from driving for five months.

For the second drink driving offence, Williams was meted with a penalty of two months imprisonment which was suspended for two years and disqualification from driving for nine months. Finally, for the driving without a license offence, Williams was sentenced to two months jail time which was suspended for two years and disqualification for six months.

In Queensland, the license of a driver will be immediately suspended for 24 hours if he registers a BAC of below 0.10.  Under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (QLD), a driver with a BAC of 0.05 but below 0.10 may be convicted with penalties for low range drink driving which include a fine of $1540, maximum imprisonment of 3 months and a maximum disqualification of nine months.

For repeat drink driving offenders, the disqualification may reach up to two years, a fine of $6600 and 18 months imprisonment. As for the offence of driving without a license, the offender may be disqualified from driving for two years to five years, fined $6600 and imprisoned for up to two years.

This article provides basic information only and is not a substitute for a professional or legal advice.

Source:
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Disclaimer : This article is just a summary of the subject matter being discussed and should not be regarded as a comprehensive legal advice for you to defend yourself alone. If you are charged with criminal offences, it is recommended that you seek legal assistance from criminal lawyers.