back2thefutura

I'm posting on behalf of a friend of mine who is in need of some advice as to what to do now.

The situation is that yesterday(Friday the 13th of all days) he was caught by a HWP radar unit doing 105 in a 50 zone. Incredibly stupid I know.

So - he was issued an infringement notice for 'over 45 km/hr' (that's what it has on the ticket), which carries with it a loss of his licence for 6 months, as well as a whopping $1,597 fine.

The trouble is - he has no job, is still in school and cannot possibly afford to pay back that amount in the 21 days specified. So, what are his options? About the only one i can think of is going to court and perhaps asking for Community Service or a Good Behaviour Bond instead of the fine, however i don't know if this will work or not. Is it possible at all to pay off the fine in installments so its a bit easier for him to do it?

First thing Monday afternoon he'll be looking for a job , but i'd still like to get an idea of what he might be able to do, as $1600 is a hell of a lot of money for his family, and they will most likely have to bail him out of it.

Any suggestions or advice is appreciated.

__________________

big_pete

damn, thats not good.
but i spose, if you do the crime, you do the time!!

sorry wouldnt have a clue what to do tho

__________________

BlueAU

He will most likely be able to work something out to pay the fine off. He may also be able to negotiate for driving restrictions instead of a 6 month loss of licence. Hopefully he doesnt have any prior offences, things will flow alot better for him if he hasnt.

back2thefutura

pete,

i do agree - its his own fault, but there's gotta be some flexibility in there somewhere - effectively forcing him to pay it in an unreasonable timeframe is not going to help anyone.

__________________

back2thefutura

BlueAU,

no previous offences as (and this will really flare up the P plater curfew debate im sure) he's only had his licence for 2 weeks!

__________________

Casper

He can organise to pay it off in installments, will cop an extra $30 fee on top but at $1600 that hardly makes a difference. He needs to contact them and explain the situation.

__________________

big_pete

yeah its not reallt fair. ive heard of uni students who get lighter fines due to bad financial situations, could be some angle to use there???

__________________

Turbo_EA

I believe he can pay it off in installments, but, I would suggest he sells his car to pay for it. 105 in a 50 zone is pretty decent. I don't wanna sound like a hipocrite as I speed a fair bit, but maybe selling his car will pay for the fine and then he can spend the next six months riding to work and saving up for a replacement car. Worth a thought anyway.

Thanks, Mic.

__________________
Formerly big_waity

Otsile

if he goes to court he will probably get away with a smaller fine, not sure about the suspension though. Have a couple of friends who've had $1500+ fines and gone to court, basically pointed out their financial situations and begged for leniency. They got their fines reduced to aprox $500

HSV

Well........he should of thought about that before speeding in what I am assuming is a neighbourhood/residential area (50 kph limit)
The Idiot gets all he deserves......sorry......no excuses!!
But he'll get off with community service seeing as he doesn't work, perhaps tending to the street/area he was speeding in would be enough.