Traffic charges can result in licence disqualification, fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment. But for most people the sentence is not the real problem. Losing the licence is.
Our expertise in driving, traffic and drink/drug driving offences includes (but is not limited to)
- Drink and drug driving
- Unlicensed and disqualified driving
- Dangerous and reckless driving
- Hit and run (fail to stop)
- Driving causing harm and death
- Vehicle impoundment and demerit issues
Traffic offences in the Northern Territory can have far-reaching consequences, from licence suspension to imprisonment. For many clients, keeping their licence means keeping their job, their independence, and their livelihood.
Hubber Legal defends a wide range of traffic and driving charges. We examine whether police complied with testing procedures, challenge the accuracy of breath or blood results, and negotiate reduced penalties where possible.
We also appear for clients facing serious charges such as dangerous driving causing harm or death, which often require detailed preparation and expert evidence.
Why this matters more in the Territory
In Darwin and across the Top End, a licence is not a convenience. It is how people get to work, get children to school, get to a remote community, get to a medical appointment. Public transport does not fill the gap, and for anyone living outside the urban area it barely exists.
Losing a licence here routinely costs people their job. That consequence is frequently more serious than the fine, and it is the thing that is most worth fighting for.
Drink driving is graded by reading
Northern Territory drink driving offences are divided into low range, medium range and high range, based on blood alcohol concentration. Broadly, low range covers readings from 0.05 to just under 0.08, medium range from 0.08 to just under 0.15, and high range 0.15 and above.
A zero limit applies to learner drivers, provisional drivers, drivers under 18 and various categories of licensed commercial driver, for whom any reading at all is an offence.
Each range carries its own penalty structure, and disqualification periods increase with the reading and with any prior history. Repeat offences are treated considerably more seriously, and alcohol interlock requirements can apply.
A low range first offence may be able to be dealt with by infringement rather than court, though there are consequences either way that are worth understanding before you decide.
Drink driving penalties in the NT: what actually happens →
We also act in
Drug driving. Driving while disqualified. Dangerous driving. Careless driving. Driving causing serious injury or death. Licence disqualification and applications affecting the ability to drive.
Driving while disqualified deserves particular mention because people underestimate it badly. It is treated far more seriously than the original offence, and it frequently attracts imprisonment where the original matter did not.
Driving causing death or serious injury is a different category again. These are serious criminal matters, usually dealt with in the Supreme Court, and they carry consequences that extend well beyond the licence.
What happens next
Most traffic matters are dealt with in the Local Court. You will receive a summons or be bailed to appear.
Do not simply plead guilty at the first opportunity on the assumption that the outcome is fixed. There is often more scope than people realise: in how the facts are put, in whether a conviction is recorded, in the length of the disqualification, and occasionally in whether the charge is made out at all.
How these cases are defended
Issues commonly include whether the breath or blood analysis was properly conducted and within the required timeframes, whether the equipment was correctly calibrated and operated, whether the reading accurately reflects the concentration at the time of driving, whether the person was in fact driving or in charge of the vehicle, the lawfulness of the stop, and identification.
Where the charge is made out, the work is in the sentence, and particularly in whether a conviction is recorded and how long you are off the road.