LIKE MANY CONCERNED MOTORISTS, we are all in favour of any action that will remove dangerous and irresponsible drivers from our roads, but we question the recent move by The Advertiser in South Australia to have alleged “killer drivers” lose their licences as soon as they’re charged, or even at the scene of a fatal crash.
Currently in South Australia (and similarly in other states), immediate loss of licence for six months is applied for drink driving offences where a driver is found to have a blood alcohol content of between 0.08 percent and 0.15 percent (immediate loss of licence for 12 months if blood alcohol content is 0.15 or higher). A driver will immediately lose his/her licence if a police officer decides you were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It also applies if a driver is found committing a second or subsequent offence within five years of driving with a BAC of 0.08 percent or above. Immediate loss of licence is also the penalty if a driver refuses to submit to a drug test or compulsory blood test. A driving licence will also be immediately disqualified for six months if a driver is detected exceeding the speed limit by 45km/h or more (10km/h or more if the driver holds a provisional licence).
As things stand now, immediate loss of licence only applies to offences that are clear cut (with, perhaps, the exception of a police officer deciding, without proof, that you are driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol). Speeding at more than 45km/h over the prevailing limit is not open to interpretation. A blood alcohol content is able to be measured. Being caught driving with a prohibited BAC within five years is not open to argument. Refusing a blood or drug test is cut and dried.
However, the circumstances of a fatal accident are often not necessarily immediately obvious, or they are open to misinterpretation.
Until the circumstances have been properly assessed, it is our contention that loss of licence following a fatal accident should only be applied by the courts.
Anything else is a simple case of being considered guilty until proven innocent. And as we understand it, that is not the principle on which Australian law is based.