I believe this article should, at the top of its list, give the strategy "Do not exceed the speed limit!"

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You must be fun at parties.

The point of the story is how to get out of a fine, not how to avoid getting booked for speeding.

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For the record, no, I don't have and never have had any speeding fines, but "request the infringement be heard in court"; no, this is a bad idea in at least one State.

In SA, you have two choices essentially, which is pay the fine (and you can ask for an appeal /review before you do) or elect prosecution, which means "go to court".

If you go to court and lose, you are prosecuted, therefore, you end up with a criminal record (because it's a Summary Offence, not a civil offence) and it being a conviction. You may not necessarily go to jail, but you will then have a criminal conviction and will be treated accordingly (and if you go to some countries, you will have to declare that you have one at the border. If you lie and get caught, you will likely get deported for lying to Immigration)

So most people just go and pay the fine because it's easier; they know that they're unlikely to get "let off", regardless of their driving history and regardless of how fast they were allegedly going, which was confirmed by a SAPOL employee back in 2012 (source below), saying "For those who don't know the system, they just pay and be done with it.". Most people have no idea they can even appeal it, because they are never told so, UNLESS it is written into legislation that a notice must include details that a person can appeal the fine (if it doesn't, the notice is actually invalid, hence, they are all "form" letters).

Remember Independent SA MP Bob Such who said he believed "hundreds of other motorists" would have paid fines for offences they had not committed, with police administration only admitting their mistakes when they had been questioned on it ("South Australian police overturn more than 3500 traffic fines - The Advertiser, 25 August 2012") ?

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And speaking as a Gen-X, then you Stella, must be exceptionally rude and/or immature with that attitude.

You sound like one of those people who thinks that "driving just a bit faster than other people at the speed limit is alright because it isn't really speeding", that it's "cool" to speed or somehow, an Australian "right" or "entitlement" to drive that little bit over (and where does it stop) ? Would you say the same if it was about "how to get out of a fine for drink driving" from the same party, or is that socially unacceptable nowadays ?

Maybe you should experience first hand, receiving a knock on the door late at night from the police to inform you that your best friend has just been killed in a road incident 500m from your shared house because someone was speeding. I have, and I hope you never do. Maybe that might change your opinion.

Maybe you should think about how scary it is to have someone endlessly tailgating you, with nowhere to pull out of their way, pressuring you and then they overtake you, weaving back in through traffic, purely because you drive to the conditions and all because "you're going too slow" for them and they're too impatient, or think that driving faster and getting to where they're going faster than others, is a 'right'.

Even at 60km/h, even 5km/h over (the urban myth of the so-called "allowance" of 10 percent before you get booked) means an additional 11 to 18 percent increase in your stopping distance, and that is depending on the road, the weather and assuming your tyres and brakes are in good working order.

If you're towing a trailer and/or driving a larger, heavier car or other vehicle then your distances increase even more.

"Don't want to get caught speeding ? Then don't speed", as Road Safety Minister Tom Kenyon said in 2011. It's as simple as that - "driving with due care and attention" and "driving to the conditions". If you and others can't do something as simple as that, then please don't drive.

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Has the government or SAPOL or any other authority involved in issuing speeding fines ever offered any evidence that substantially raising the fine amount has any impact on the road toll year to year? In SA the corporate fee for example went from 300 to 1800 dollars overnight. A five fold increase in the fees charged in my mind should be supported by some evidence that it is necessary or helpful from a safety point of view, which is always the argument from the police and the government, but where is the evidence?

I am ok with fines being issued to deter speeding. But the amounts and the increases are absolutely extortionate, and need to be justified.

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I agree George, take a look at driving a non-registered car; fines for offenders driving unregistered vehicles jumped from $335 to $1000, with vehicles unregistered for more than one month attracting an additional $1,500 fine for owners, up from $616, and the number went up when they removed registration stickers. So are we 2 1/2 to 3 times more safer than before ? I doubt it. And what about those unfortunate people who, for whatever reason, are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, maybe a lapse in concentration or remembering to pay their rego, or not having the cashflow, but will get it tomorrow and get caught. I don't think that they intended to do so, but a $1,000 fine is very heavy handed IMHO.

Figures obtained by Greens MLC Tammy Franks through Freedom of Information laws have revealed South Australia's fines for unregistered drivers have spiked by 22 percent since windscreen stickers had not been issued.

Source: "Caught by default: Unregistered driver fines up since removal of SA sticker system" 24 July 2013 and "Drivers beware: Unregistered vehicle fines in South Australia about to triple" 23 December 2013.

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Mike Richards. I actually agree with Stella but at the same time agree with you. If you look at the title of the article it is "How to get out of a speeding fine after double-demerit season" So Stella saying how do you get out of it is correct. In saying that she could have worded it better or the article could have been worded better such as "What are your options if you get a speeding ticket or options for any ticket (in reference to you talking about drink driving) after double demerit season."

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It is all revenue raising regardless. Lowering speed causes more cars on rd longer. slower speeds allow drivers to lose concentration because it gives them time to look around. If you spend many hours on the rd you will see groupings of cars. Cars in groups are more prone to crashing through proximity, driver skill variations and also time restraints. Cars are so more advanced then cars even 10 years ago so using speed kills and stopping distances is also a wrong approach. You can't police stupidity but you can visit it at the cemetery. Statistics don't lie but rewording them to suit an agenda does

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Mike,

You think you're the only person with a tale of woe?

Wake up mister, society doesn't need highly opinionated, self rightous stories.

And also, try and keep your replies in context with the publication. Not rambling on about irrelevant facts!

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Here, here... well said John. Pedestrian deaths have been going up for years... extremely irresponsible reporting at this time of year as well. Have a thought for families who have had that knock on the door from the police as a result of some idiot speeding.

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Nice sentiment, Mark, but you're completely wrong when it comes to the stats.

Pedestrian deaths in Australia have fallen every year since 2018, and fell more than 9% from 2019 to 2020.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/992074/total-number-pedestrian-deaths-australia/#:~:text=In%20Australia%20in%20the%20the,decrease%20from%20the%20previous%20year.

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