Anyone Been Fined For Not Updating Driver's Licence Address

L[Deactivated] on 04/10/2016 - 15:42
Last edited 04/10/2016 - 16:47 by 1 other user

Hi and thank you in advance.

I don't drive anymore just due to not wanting a car and am happy walking anywhere. I do not own a car and have a 10 year long licence, about halfway through.

So:

Have updated electoral roll.
Not in car.
Don't own car.
Not jaywalking or anything.
Cop asks for licence for ID, not driving related.
I show licence and say I moved from address and said new address near location. All truthful.

Cop trying to heavy me said it's an offence to not update new address within 2 weeks! WTF? If the licence is just sitting in your pocket not being used. Wah.

Vicroads Victoria if it matters. Interested in other states thoughts too.

No fine…but was he for real? I have looked and am looking and can't imagine legislation for walking with an un-updated driver's licence. If you are driving, I understand, but is just possessing an old but current licence with an old address in your pocket an offence?

Automotive

Comments

  • spackbace on 04/10/2016 - 15:51
    +5

    No fine

    So move on, and just go change your address in the system?

  • oscargamer on 04/10/2016 - 15:51
    +5

    while you hold a valid licence, yes you have to update your address

    http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_reg/rsr2009322…

    why not hand it back and get a refund?

    • [Deactivated] on 04/10/2016 - 16:54

      While my circumstances might not be standard, I think most people would be surprised and shocked that not updating your driving license within 2 weeks exposes you to 3 penalty units…3 x $150, whether you use the license or not.

      cheers and thanks and OMG

  • retiredfeline on 04/10/2016 - 15:52
    +5

    Hand it in and get an ID card instead.

  • whooah1979 on 04/10/2016 - 15:58
    +1

    Were you driving at the time? If no, then you should have told the police officer that you'll be more than happy to give them your name and address, but will not show them an Id. I don't know how it works in Vic, but in nsw it isn't an offence to refuse to show id when not driving.

    • [Deactivated] on 04/10/2016 - 16:03

      Truth be told I was kicking up a stink at the AEC office for being fined by the Electoral Commission for Not voting when I absolutely did vote, and my father was accused of voting twice. A clusterfudge by the AEC has branded my family electoral cheats and threats to democracy. When the AEC admitted it was their blunder I asked/demanded it in writing as they had threatened legal action over what was entirely their incompetence. I was in the thrusts of telling them to take me to court and I will draw them a picture of the layout of the voting place and was even thanked by AEC staff for helping a handicapped voter to avoid obvious rain that staff couldn't care about. The disturbance was too great for the threatening letter department of the AEC and they said they'd call cops and I said sure, I'm no fugitive nor electoral fraudster.

      • MrMcHairyHead on 04/10/2016 - 16:15
        +3

        I got stopped by the cops for looking at a car. The cop said I wouldn't have looked at a car if I wasn't going to break into it. I had the wrong address on my license, and he didn't care. I'm guessing they very rarely fine people for it.

        But just go update it to be safe. Also you never know when you might need to drive someone else's car or rent one, or use your licence as a form of ID (like for renting something).

      • Davo1111 on 04/10/2016 - 16:44
        +4

        Truth be told I was kicking up a stink at the AEC office for being fined by the Electoral Commission for Not voting when I absolutely did vote, and my father was accused of voting twice.

        Instead of getting shitty about it. Why didn't you just write a letter and say:

        In regards to penalty notice #, i voted at x location on election day with my father (full name). Given he has been marked off as voted twice, and I haven't been marked off, it appears to have been an error by the polling officials. Please correct and advise. Both sign it and send it in.

        I can almost guarantee that will be accepted. Particularly if the story aligns up to where you both voted.

        This stuff happens all the time, and in reality, the AEC doesnt want to kick up a stink. The fine itself is pittance really, you get a larger fine for Jay-walking

        I was in the thrusts of telling them to take me to court and I will draw them a picture of the layout of the voting place and was even thanked by AEC staff for helping a handicapped voter to avoid obvious rain that staff couldn't care about.

        Mate the AEC doesn't WANT to take you to court, they don't want to have an argument. I bet it costs more to dish out the fines. All election booths are based off like 3 designs anyway.

        Here I'll help you out:

        Local Voting Official
        AEC

        Dear Sir/Madam

        RE: Penalty Offence (number) and (number)

        My father and I both voted in person at <location> on <date> at approximately <time>. My father has been marked off the role as having voted twice, and I was not marked off the role. This appears to be a clerical error, could you please advise.

        Regards

        <name> <name2>
        <DOB> <DOB>

        done.

        • [Deactivated] on 04/10/2016 - 16:56
          +1

          Did that when they first accused my father a month ago. We pre-empted their stuffup a month ago when he was fined and named every child. Same polling booth. I got fined yesterday. AEC don't care or think before threatening legal action. Some places need confrontation to actually sort things out and I did that. One reason I chose to go this way is this could easily have happened when I am off-grid uncontactable and getting sued in absentia. Anyone threatening legal action should get their facts straight Before the threat part. The AEC do not do that.

        • [Deactivated] on 04/10/2016 - 17:32
          +1

          Regarding the standard 3 booth designs, this one criss-crossed the out of area voters with locals. They had to walk through each other. It was just knotted chaos and everyone leaving had to cut through both queues again to exit.

      • StewBalls on 04/10/2016 - 20:56

        A clusterfudge by the AEC has branded my family electoral cheats and threats to democracy.

        Yup, the Rule of Law has just gone tits-up alright. ;)

        Props for your honesty about kicking up a stink though, no biggie, we've all been there at some point…

        • sagrules on 06/10/2016 - 12:40
          +1

          I went to a polling booth in NSW for local government and the guy ticking off the names marked me off at the wrong address, when my partner came over to tick his name off, the guy realised he had made a mistake marking my name off and passed me off to his colleague due to his mistake. They tick it off in pencil so not sure why he couldn't just rub it out… I am just glad it got resolved on the spot because the situation would've ended up similar to yours of having to prove to them that I had attended that weekend to vote :(

        • Davo1111 on 07/10/2016 - 08:56

          @sagrules:

          They tick it off in pencil so not sure why he couldn't just rub it out…

          because it's against electoral law to use an eraser. It's also marked by computer and they can still see the line.

  • gomertose on 04/10/2016 - 16:12
    +4

    Here I was thinking that you were going to tell us you were the first person to get fined… and then I was disappointed.

  • Davo1111 on 04/10/2016 - 16:53
    +7

    Cop trying to heavy me said it's an offence to not update new address within 2 weeks! WTF? If the licence is just sitting in your pocket not being used. Wah.

    that's the law, it's always been like this.

    • [Deactivated] on 04/10/2016 - 17:03

      I do respect anyone pointing out they knew it, in particular if they knew it even if you didn't use it. In my case I went overseas for more than two weeks. I think updating details to truthful no fixed address might not be constructive or allowed. Many people bridge when moving.

      • Davo1111 on 04/10/2016 - 21:24
        +1

        In my case I went overseas for more than two weeks. I think updating details to truthful no fixed address might not be constructive or allowed.

        Ummm, so when the cop asked you where you lived, your answer should have been "this was my last physical address, i havent lived in my current address for more than 2 weeks".

        The fact that you've mentioned being "overseas for more that two weeks" suggests to me that you failed the attitude test with the cop.

        • [Deactivated] on 04/10/2016 - 22:37
          +1

          Not really attitude. I followed instructions courteously. I kinda accepted the threat of the fine at the time, putting it on my inner to-Google list.

          I accept that if a two week law does exist even for people not actively using it, then my usage of heavying was inaccurate. I was trying to express the sitation where a cop finds a taillight infringement or technicality when they couldn't get you for something else they had probable cause for.

          Interestingly VicRoads don't seem to mention any threat of prosecution for it and we can't find a single person to be charged yet, let alone for a pedestrian.

  • retiredfeline on 04/10/2016 - 17:04
    +1

    Sorry for the thread hijack but just curious, what do people who go overseas for an extended period do, give a reli's address for service of notices for the duration?

    • [Deactivated] on 04/10/2016 - 17:14

      No hijack at all. I agree :)

    • [Deactivated] on 05/10/2016 - 14:36
      +1

      From VicRoads:

      "
      By law you need to let us know your new address within 14 days of moving so that we can update our records.

      You'll need to contact VicRoads to change your address if you:

      • need to enter an overseas address
        "

      This makes a whole mass of people travelling overseas for any lengthy holiday or work a law breaker.

      In my pedestrian case it says you must provide: vehicle or vessel registration number and vehicle or vessel make and model.

      That clearly presupposes you have one and this strict requirement cannot be furnished if you don't have one. It's contradictory and messy.

      • Euphemistic on 06/10/2016 - 08:47
        +2

        If you are travelling OS for a holiday or work you aren't 'moving' in most cases. You do still need to change your address if you will be moving out to holiday/work and moving back to somewhere different on your return though.

        • [Deactivated] on 06/10/2016 - 09:13

          :) I used 'lengthy' to try to denote that, yes a 3 week holiday wouldn't require it if the base postal address was unchanged, however this relates primarily to VicRoads issuing of traffic infringements, fines and court matters. If they serve an infringement or ultimately a court order, you must be contactable by post. So a fine must be paid in say, 3 weeks, unpaid escalation time and whatnot then court, if you are overseas for that period, it can't just be held mail accumulating in a mailbox, even if you plan to return to read unread mail 'whenever'. You are expected to be attentive to the operation of your vehcle and potential fines that you or others cause. Imagine you speed on the way to the airport then holiday for 6 months overseas. Their fining and court process requires action well within that period, even if you paid rent for a base here for that time.

        • Euphemistic on 06/10/2016 - 09:15

          @Frugal Rock: So can you provide a definition of lengthy? What about a 4 week holiday? 5? 3 months?

        • [Deactivated] on 06/10/2016 - 09:40

          @Euphemistic:
          The law says 14 days, but seems to be unenforced. I personally (read without qualification) think it comes down to the legal definition of being 'reasonably' contactable for the purposes of issuing fines and court documents. If you go overseas with no contingency to pay fines during that period, as in haven't delegated to someone, the time period would be the notice/action period of fines and court action. If your vehicle is being used and is unroadworthy, everything is a mess. Citylink fees. In my unqualfied opinion, they have a legal presumption of 14 days notice. I do not think they apply this potential authority due to discretion and workload. I think 2 -4 months would be the practical length, when fines might get legal, but I have never gone through that process. It is interesting, though, the letter of the law and such a large portion of society being theoretical law breakers when even the police do not enforce it. The other thing is I would not confidently tell a cop that the address was 3 years old if I was driving a car. I did volunteer it as a pedestrian. The legislation doesn't care, but basic logic does.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/10/2016 - 01:11
    -1

    Cops will tell you off for anything if they're having a bad day/want to feel powerful

  • foxxo on 08/10/2016 - 16:05
    +1

    I've been fined for not updating my licence address. They'd pulled me over for taking off a little too enthusiastically, so they checked my licence and asked if its up to date and I stated its the address where I keep the bike, but I live elsewhere. Insta-fine, no way to argue, was something like $20 payable at the Qld transport.

  • JayEmmGee on 09/10/2016 - 07:12

    Why wouldn't you have just updated your address with VicRoads? This also updates your electoral roll address

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