Drink drivers could claim thousands in compensation

Drink drivers in Australia who were wrongly disqualified as a result of a police blunder could claim hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.

More than 500 people were wrongly allowed to keep their licences after being caught drink driving in Victoria, Australia

In Victoria, Australia, nearly 200 drivers lost their driving licences for six months after police applied the wrong legislation penalty.

Furthermore, more than 500 drivers under the age of 26 who should have been taken off the road will not have their licences confiscated.

In 2007, legislation came into effect in Victoria deeming drivers over 26 caught with an alcohol blood level of between 0.05 and 0.07 would be hit with a AU$443 fine and 10 demerit points, but no immediate licence cancellation.

Meanwhile, those younger than 26 would be fined AU$443 and have their licences revoked for six months.

The extent of the police error was only brought to attention after a man challenged his penalty last week.

As a result, assistant commissioner Bob Hill said the force could be liable to pay financial damages as some people would have lost jobs, had lives inconvenienced, fees associated with going to court, drink drive programmes and getting their licences back.

“That’s certainly something we’re looking at and something we’re expecting,” he told the Herald Sun. “We’ve made a mistake.

“It’s an error on behalf of members issuing their tickets. It’s a system failure in terms of us not detecting the error.

“I understand that there are livelihoods that may have been impacted by the error of our members and that’s something we will work through with each individual on a case-by-case basis.”

He added the police had implemented changes to the force’s internal system and processes to ensure more accurate penalties in future.