More than 300,000 NSW drivers to lose their licences; not for road offences but for lack of cash

MORE than 300,000 licences will be taken away from NSW motorists this financial year - but it wasn't for running out of demerit points but running out of money.

MORE than 300,000 licences will be taken away from NSW motorists this financial year because they cannot pay fines.

An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph reveals nearly 102,000 people had their right to drive revoked in the first four months of 2013-14 - not for running out of demerit points but for running out of money.

Some hadn't even committed a road-related offence.

The rate of suspensions has risen by more than 60 per cent in three years due to a jump in the number of fines issued and new technology at the Office of State Revenue that is aiding its crackdown on debts.

'PARKING PENALTIES TOO HARD ON DRIVERS'

"We've become much better at imposing sanctions," the OSR's Melissa Gowen said, adding that any fine issued by a state government agency could trigger a freeze.

NSW is taking away more than 40 times as many licences as Victoria.

Suspension prompts many to pay, producing a windfall for the state government. But tens of thousands - especially the poor and young - cannot cough up. Many will keep on driving anyway, not only illegally but often without compulsory third-party insurance.

Sydney's roads more congested at weekends that weekday peak hour

Australian Council of Social Service's Cassandra Goldie said: "This is indeed disturbing news and reflects the increasing hardship experienced by people living on low incomes."

Financial Counselling Australia executive director Fiona Guthrie said: "Our counsellors are seeing lots of people who are asking for help with this."

Curtin University academic Anna Ferrante, who has studied links between fine-related licence suspensions, driving while disqualified and imprisonment, said: "An auditor-general needs to sit over the top of the enforcement system."

In May, then Finance Minister Greg Pearce said more than $1 million a day in overdue fines was being collected.

Mr Pearce was stood down in August after News Corp ­revealed he had appointed his wife's boss to the board of Sydney Water without telling Premier Barry O'Farrell.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said a fine could be contested "if you think you've been hard done by". If not, the NRMA's advice was to contact the OSR straight away and talk to them. "Don't pretend it doesn't exist," he warned.

Ms Gowen said it was possible to ask the OSR for more time to pay a fine or to seek that the debt be written off.

As at the end of September, there were 4.8 million licensed drivers in NSW meaning about 6 per cent of motorists will face suspension in 2013-14 for not paying some sort of fine.

Around Australia, more than 600,000 motorists will likely have their licence taken away, The Sunday Telegraph has found.

'PARKING PENALTIES TOO HARD ON DRIVERS'

Briana Domjen

I've never been caught speeding.

I've never run a red light.

I have however been slapped with three or four parking fines in my life - and had my license suspended for not paying them.

There is something about finding that white rectangular parking fine tucked neatly under your windscreen wiper that evokes an unrelenting rage and immediate regret.

It is in that moment that many people's first reaction is to shove the glossy ticket in their glovebox and deal with it at the eleventh hour or tell themselves they are going to draft a letter to get out of it which of course never happens.

It's tough times for NSW families, many of who can't afford to pay their utility bills, however they are being slapped with fines up to $230 for minor parking infringements.

And nearly 102,000 people who received fines like this and were unable to cough the money up had their license suspended in the first four months of 2013-14.

Those motorists including myself aren't hurting anyone and they most often aren't stopping traffic.

Yet they are being kicked off the road.

Yes drivers should obey the law. However, booting me off the road for putting the hazards on in a no stopping zone to grab a coffee is a bit harsh.