Queensland · Your Keys to Driving in Queensland · chapter 11 · 21 min read

Offences & Penalties

• What to do at a crash
• What to do You must stop if you are involved in a crash. You must report a crash to the police immediately if:
• a vehicle involved needs to be towed away
• any driver involved in the crash does not give his or her particulars to any other drivers involved in the crash
• any person involved is killed or injured. If the crash cannot be reported immediately, it must be reported within 24 hours of the crash occurring. There are additional obligations that apply if a person is seriously injured or killed in a crash. For more information visit www.qld.gov.au.
• Tow trucks There are laws governing tow truck licence holders, and it is important you know your rights when having your vehicle towed. Queensland’s tow truck regulations applies to towing from crashes, police seizures, and private property parking in regulated areas. Most major populated areas of Queensland are regulated areas. For a full list, see the Tow Truck Regulation 2009. Tow truck licence operators must be licensed by the Department of Transport and Main Roads to tow any vehicle from a crash, police seizure or private property parking. The tow truck licence holder’s name, business address and telephone number must be clearly marked on their vehicle.
• Organising your vehicle to be towed
• The accredited tow truck driver is the only person who is allowed to approach you about towing your vehicle from the crash. If you are injured and unable to make your own decisions, another person who is with you or an authorised person such as a police officer may act on your behalf as your agent.
• The tow truck driver must show you their certificate, even if you do not ask to see it.
• You or your agent must sign a towing authority form before your vehicle can be towed from the crash.
• Make sure the towing authority form is fully completed before you sign it. The form should include full details of the cost of the tow, the cost of any storage and the address of where you want the vehicle to be towed.
• A police officer or Department of Transport and Main Roads authorised officer may sign the towing authority form if you or your agent cannot sign the form. In this case, the tow truck licence holder must inform the department where your vehicle was towed within seven days.
• A tow truck licence holder must not charge more than the regulated towing fee for a standard tow. A standard tow includes: – loading and moving the vehicle to a place of storage (includes the first 50km from the incident scene – a fee per kilometre may be charged for each kilometre over 50km) – up to 60 minutes working time – cleaning the scene of the incident – storing the vehicle for up to 72 hours.
• If your vehicle is covered by comprehensive insurance, your insurance company may pay for the towing of the vehicle from the crash. Confirm this with your insurance company.
• In the case of a minor crash where your vehicle has not sustained any significant damage you may refuse to sign the towing authority if the vehicle is in a suitable condition to be driven or you wish to make other arrangements.
• It is important to note that the crash site be cleared quickly in the interest of public safety.
• A tow truck driver or assistant must not threaten, intimidate harass, insult or abuse you. They must not wilfully injure you, damage your property or hinder the delivery of first aid or medical treatment.
• Once your vehicle is in storage, it cannot be moved again without your permission.
• A tow truck licence holder must not charge you to view your vehicle during business hours when it is held at the storage yard, or to move your vehicle near the entrance of the yard for collection.
• A tow truck licence holder must keep a record of all property in your vehicle and keep the property in storage for you.
• A tow truck licence holder, must not disclose any personal information about the owner of the vehicle they have towed unless it is to be disclosed to the vehicle owner, their agent or to an authorised officer. For more information about tow truck legislation, see the Tow Truck Act 1973 and the Tow Truck Regulation 2009 by visiting the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel website at www.legislation.qld.gov.au. For more information on regulated towing fees, visit www.tmr.qld.gov.au or call 13 23 80.

• Offences and penalties
• Enforcement
• Licence sanctions
• Disqualified and unlicensed driving

Enforcement

Speed cameras Fixed speed cameras are installed at locations that have a history of road crashes, are difficult or unsafe to monitor by other enforcement methods, and where there is a strong crash potential. A point-to-point (or average) speed camera system uses a number of cameras over a length of road to measure a vehicle’s average speed. The system uses the time it takes for a vehicle to travel between the two points to calculate the average speed of the vehicle: speed = distance/time. The point-to-point camera system determines the average speed between the two points and compares this speed to the speed limit of the road to establish if an offence has occurred. Mobile speed cameras operate at sites that have been approved following a strict selection procedure, which considers:

• the site’s history of crashes
• validated complaints about high-risk speeding behaviour
• workplace health and safety issues for roadworkers and police officers operating speed cameras
• that the speed limit for the road has been set in compliance with the state’s speed control guidelines. Further information about the operation of speed cameras in Queensland can be found at www.qld.gov.au. For more information about speed limits – see Speed limits, page 72.

Red light cameras Red light cameras are installed at intersections that have a history of crashes caused by red light running. The cameras operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A red light camera is activated when the traffic light turns red. Any vehicle that crosses the STOP line and enters the intersection after the light has turned red will be photographed. After a vehicle is photographed, a second photograph is taken one second later. The second photograph is used to check whether the vehicle continued through the intersection or stopped just past the STOP line. There are two types of red light cameras in Queensland – red light cameras and combined red light and speed cameras. Combined red light/speed cameras are placed at signalised intersections and detect both the failure to obey the red traffic signal and speeding.