Timothy Murphy: South Grafton man with lengthy history of traffic offences sentenced at Grafton Local Court

A North Coast man whose traffic history was so bad he was disqualified from driving until 2041 couldn’t believe his luck when he was told he could soon be back on the road. Find out how.

Timothy Murphy received a second chance at Grafton Local Court

A Clarence Valley man racked up so many traffic offences he was disqualified from driving for two decades.

But South Grafton’s Timothy Murphy caught a break when he faced Grafton Local Court on Monday.

The 40-year-old previously sent a letter to the court, pleading guilty to driving while disqualified. It was far from his first traffic offence.

Court documents reveal Murphy was convicted multiple times since 2014 at both Grafton and Coffs Harbour local courts for driving while disqualified, driving an unregistered car and driving while his licence was cancelled.

In 2015, Murphy even received a 12-month prison term after he was once again caught driving disqualified.

By 2021, his offences had piled up and he was hit with a 20 year ban from getting behind the wheel of a car, meaning he would not be able to drive until 2041.

Murphy’s most recent offending occurred about 1:30pm on July 7 when he was busted, yet again, driving disqualified.

Timothy Murphy (right) talks with his lawyer outside Grafton Local Court.

However, Magistrate Juliana Crofts told Murphy there was legislation which “could make a big difference to you” and assigned him a legal aid lawyer.

Defence lawyer Jason Hatch told the court Murphy “had a long history of traffic offences” but was eager to “break the cycle”.

The court heard Murphy’s offending started off fairly minor, but “quickly snowballed leading to the 20 year disqualification”.

Ms Crofts referred to amendments to the Road Transport Act 2013, passed in 2017, when she sentenced Murphy.

The reform allows disqualified drivers to apply to the local court to have their lengthy disqualification periods lifted if they remain offence-free, according to the legislation.

“The offence-free period is either two years or four years depending on the person’s offence history,” the Department of Communities and Justice states online.

Referring to the legislation, Ms Crofts said it was targeted at people who have received a disqualification period “so large it may seem crushing”.

“I strongly urge you to take this information on board,” she said.

Ms Crofts convicted Murphy, placed him on a 12-month community corrections order and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.

If Murphy is able to abide by the law, he is due to have his licence back in just two years.