South Australian motorists to pay Australia's highest penalties of $2500 for not renewing vehicle registration


MOTORISTS who fail to register their car will face fines of up to $2500 - the highest in the nation - from February, the State Government has announced.
The Sunday Mail can reveal for the first time the start date for the punishing penalty increase which has been slammed by the RAA as "unjustified''.
The combined fine for driving an unregistered and uninsured car will jump from $954 to $2500 and become among the highest traffic offence penalty in the state.
The RAA and the state's peak welfare group are lobbying the Government to reconsider the hike because it says the existing penalty is a sufficient deterrent.
TELL US: Is this new penalty rate justified?
"We also believe the increasing number of safety cameras creates a much greater chance of people being caught and this also acts as a deterrent,'' RAA road safety manager Charles Mountain said.
READ MORE: Register your car monthly
"Really the new fines are way in excess of the crime.
"Our argument is the fines are already substantial and a lot of money to pay - especially in those cases where the car is unregistered due to an oversight.''
The fines changes from February are:
DRIVING an unregistered vehicle up from $335 to $1000.
DRIVING an uninsured vehicle (more than 30 days after registration lapses) up from $616 to $1500.
The penalty increase - which takes effect a month from the State Election - is the most significant change to registration regulations since the Government abolished registration stickers in July 2011 as a money saving initiative.
Attorney General John Rau said the existing fine 'was not enough of a de...
Attorney General John Rau said the existing fine ‘was not enough of a deterrent’. Source: News Limited
The latest data to June this year shows 57,427 people have been fined for driving unregistered since rules requiring that vehicles display a registration sticker were scrapped.
Attorney General John Rau said the increase has been timed to coincided with a new fine enforcement unit tasked with clawing back millions in unpaid penalties.
This week The Advertiser revealed a mother to two young children was fined for driving unregistered and uninsured despite not receiving a registration reminder or overdue notice for the family car.
An SA Centre for Economic Studies report into SA's fine regime, released this week, concluded that the level of fine for driving an unregistered vehicle "does not reflect a proper balance between individual responsibility and government responsibility".
"Sometimes reminder letters do not go to the right address or someone may be in hospital or on holiday for a month and not see the letter and their registration will lapse,'' Mr O'Neil, executive director of the centre, said.
"People who have paid their registration on time for the past five years should only be given an official warning if they are caught driving unregistered for no more than 30 days.''
The Centre also said SA had a reliance on heavy traffic penalties indicating an "overly strong preference for revenue raising in the pursuit of greater road safety".
SA Council of Social Services aid the new registration fines will be crippling for those on income support.
"For people on a pension or Newstart allowance a $2500 fine makes a very big impact on their lifestyle and this move seems profoundly greedy by the Government,'' council executive director Ross Womersley said.
Attorney General John Rau said the existing fine "for driving an unregistered vehicle was not enough of a deterrent.''
"The new penalties better reflect the serious consequences of driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.
"People who drive unregistered are also driving uninsured. They are bludging on the system and ramping up costs for everyone else.''

Actually he looks a bit like a pedophile too.

What change of heart?, I've always looked out for the poor hence my outrage over our arsehole government using them to fix their broken budget. 

greggerypeccary wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2013 at 6:06pm:




I guess to you he looks like a trusting adult that you should pull your pants down for after promising not to tell your mum and dad.

Do you have any comments on the appalling SA governments attempts to rape the poor Greg or are you just going to turn this thread into yet another outlet for your repressed memories.

No fee registration for all!  Pay your Third Party, get your inspection.. and Yob's Yer Carbuncle!

Why pay the government extra to do its job?  Time to take the dollars from the white collars!

This one reason why SA Labor is set to be exterminated in SA come March.  That and putting speed cameras in as many places as possible to raise revenue.

Innocent bystander wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2013 at 6:46pm:



Old age pensioners with memory problems shouldn't be on the road.

Next!