Batemans Bay police are pleased that ACT speeders will now have demerit points deducted from their licence when caught speeding in the Eurobodalla.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Batemans Bay Highway Patrol’s Sergeant Angus Duncombe said as there were more ACT drivers caught speeding on the Kings Highway, this was good news.
However, he doesn’t think it will stop ACT drivers from speeding down the Clyde Mountain anytime soon.
“It is great news we now have a nation-wide affiliation in regard to the demerit point scheme,” he said. “Drivers from any other state or territory who get caught speeding on the Far South Coast, their licence is going to be penalised.”
He doesn’t expect to see slower speeds on the Kings Highway, but said there could be more suspended drivers on the road, particularly if ACT licence-holders aren’t aware of the changes in the demerit point scheme and have accumulated demerit points because of it.
“Hopefully it will make some people think twice about committing high- speed offences” he said.
The National Drivers Licensing Scheme was introduced in 1999 but it wasn’t until this year that the ACT jumped on board.
A spokeswoman with the ACT’s Justice and Comm-unity Safety said the territory had a “fully functional” Demerit Point Exchange System (DPX) before 1999, but this failed after a computer glitch.
The spokeswoman said the National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System “encountered programming problems”.
Before it was fixed, the spokeswoman said there was a “national” debate over whether demerit points should apply to where the offence was committed (the “Roam” rule), or where the licence was held (the “Home” rule).
Early last year, she said a “national resolution” was reached not to include the “roam” rule (where demerit points were applied to the state where the offence was committed), “due to the significant system enhancement costs that would be incurred”.
“Once that decision was reached, the ACT moved quickly to restore DPX arrangements under the Home rule arrangements.
“The demerit point exchange process is operational and ACT driver licence holders that have incurred infringements interstate since March 2, 2012, should expect to have the demerit points associated with those infringements applied to their licences.”
She also admitted no public announcements had been made about the “DPX functionality ceasing to be available and being rebuilt”.