A Queensland motorist was left scratching their head after spotting a very unexpected detail on a recent speeding fine.
Sharing on Reddit, the driver said they were baffled to see that they’d been fined a whopping $1,548 for doing 69km/h in a 60 zone.
“Is there anything I can do about this fine?” the Reddit user asked.
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“I’m an international student so I don’t know so much about what to do. I got this fine today and isn’t it too much for speeding? Any suggestion? Please be polite, I already feel awful.”
Many were quick to share the motorist’s alarm over the exorbitant fine given that it was a low range speeding offence.
“That is insane! Nine kilometres over and more than a $1,500 fine? WTF,” said one.
Another said: “Queensland fine amounts are f***ing ridiculous in general.”
A third wrote: “Holy crap those fines are expensive.”
One more added: “I know right, talk about price gouging!”
However a closer look at the fine showed one key detail that meant there was a simple explanation for the high fine.
Given that no demerit points were deducted for the speeding offence, eagle-eyed Reddit users were quick to ask whether the driver was behind the wheel of a company car.
In Queensland, if a company car is issued an infringement notice, the driver must be nominated in order for demerit points to be applied to their licence.
Until then, the company is fined a significantly higher amount.
“This fine is for a vehicle registered under a business,” one Reddit user explained.
“If there is no designated driver then the business is charged a higher fine with zero demerit points. If you nominate who the driver is then the driver will get a lower fine plus demerit points taken.”
Another advised: “Were you driving a company vehicle? You need to have it changed to a personal infringement, which will lower the amount to $287.”
A third wrote: “The fine is higher because it’s a company registered vehicle, hence no demerits.”
Added one more: “Yeah I used to rep for a company and nearly s*** a brick when I got a speeding fine! It goes down massively when you nominate yourself.”
The Reddit user who shared the post agreed that he was driving a car that wasn’t leased in his name, and was going to do the relevant paperwork to has the fine reduced.
“The main thing to realise (and yes you’ve had to learn the hard way), is that speed limits are pretty strictly enforced, and you can get a fine with demerits for even the tiniest bit over the limit,” another Reddit user advised.
“Others have already explained about it being a company car, so you have the option to claim it as a personal fine and pay less with demerits, or pay the higher amount as listed and not lose points (if you’re on P plates, the latter may be a better option).
“Welcome to Australia, best of luck.”