A few questions after doing extensive oversea's driving and riding. What happens if you pull an oversea's driver over for a traffic offense and they present their international driving permit or local licence? Do they just get the same fine?
Are they immune from demerit points or can they be barred from driving in the state? Also is there any recourse to pursue international drivers for not paying their tickets? I'm sure quite a few of them leave by the time their fines are due.
And what about BAC? If a 16 year old American kid is driving around with his American licence, is he allowed to blow 0.05?
That's a very long debated issue as far as international driving permits go.
Everyone gets the same fine. Also if you're from interstate, the relevant state that your licence is from is told of the ticket and they are sort of expected to pass on the points, I think. It's all a bit hazy.
In the case that you are disqualified as a result of a ticket, such as drink driving, you become disqualified from driving in that state. Again, the licencing corporation in the state you're from is told of this and it should be passed on.
The only measure in place to get people to pay fines is through the sherriff's office. If the fine isn't paid it turns into a warrant for whenever the person is found. If an overseas visitor gets a ticket and doesn't pay it, it turns into a warrant and when/if they come back and they're found, the sherriff process can begin. Unlikely though.
If a person comes to Australia on an overseas licence, they are expected to obtain an Australian equivalent within a set time frame. In Victoria it's three months. I think the other states are probably the same. If on a student visa, the time constraints don't apply. A work visa though, the time limit applies.
Here's a good scenario - Overseas person on a student visa is stopped by police. They are on an overseas licence and produce an Australian learner permit. Which one applies? Are they committing an offence of driving without a qualified driver when on a learner permit, or are they ok to be driving on their overseas licence?
Also, why would they have both?