How foreign drivers are flouting Victorian road rules
Speeding, careless driving and licensing issues are among the traffic offences of foreign drivers flouting Victoria’s road rules, with police catching dangerously unaware overseas motorists behind the wheel more than 45 times a day.
Victoria
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Motorists on overseas licences are being nabbed for speeding and other traffic offences more than 45 times per day, with new data showing fines among this group have surged over the past four years.
Figures obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun reveal infringements issued by Victoria Police to international licence holders rose by more than a third between 2016 and 2019.
More than 16,000 motorists on these licences were caught out last year alone.
The number of offenders in this category has risen significantly faster than other drivers and now make up a greater share of fines issued, rising from 3.3 per cent to 4.4 per cent.
The most common fines were for speeding, registration and licencing and not following safety procedures such as careless driving.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the majority of traffic offences in the state were among those with Australian drivers licences.
“While this number is low, it is extremely important that anyone using our roads is aware of the Victorian road rules and drives to the conditions,” she said.
“This is especially important given their familiarity with Victorian roads may be limited.
“Victoria Police is focused on maintaining a highly visible police presence on metro, rural and regional roads in order to detect offences, deter criminal behaviour and keep people safe.
“In addition, there are a number of specific targeted road policing operations throughout the year based on intelligence, external events and other road user trends.”
It comes after new rules were introduced in October last year requiring overseas drivers to get a Victorian licence within six months of entering the state.
A Department of Transport spokeswoman said this deadline head been pushed back by 12 months due to coronavirus restrictions.
“Driving in a new country can be difficult,” she said.
“That’s why we have a wide range of information available in eight languages to help overseas drivers understand some of the most commonly misunderstood road rules in Victoria. “We’re continuing to work with hire car companies, Tourism Victoria and our road safety partners to ensure the safety of everyone sharing our road.”
“An Australian Transport Safety Bureau extensive review of crashes and found no evidence to suggest foreign born drivers were over represented in accidents compared with Australian born drivers and are far less likely to be involved in crashes involving alcohol or excessive speed.”
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