Fresh calls for speeding fines in Australia to be calculated based on a person's income
There are renewed calls for Australia to adopt a Finnish-style model where speeding fines are issued based on the driver's income.
Flat-rate traffic penalties for speeding drivers are unfair and "regressive" particularly in the current cost-of-living crisis, according to a report published by think tank The Australia Institute.
Research by the institute found making speeding fines proportional to a person's income, as is done in Finland, would be an equitable model for traffic offences in Australia.
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The Australia Institute found income-based speeding fines would be a fair way to issue traffic penalties. 9News
In Finland, fines are calculated based on a driver's monthly income and whether they have financial dependents.
One wealthy Finnish driver was fined nearly $200,000 in 2023 for driving 32km above the speed limit.
Anders Wiklöf's fine was based on his significantly high income.
Meanwhile, the lowest income earners nabbed in Finland doing less than 10km/h over the speed limit would pay about $33, while the highest income would pay about $295.
In all Australian states, fines are levied at a flat rate depending on the offence.
The Australia Institute said speeding fines could financially ruin those on low incomes and are simply a "minor annoyance" for high-income earners.
"For a person on a low income, speeding fines can be crippling," said Alice Grundy, an Australia Institute research manager and report co-author.
Speeding fines in Finland are issued based on how much you earn per month. AAP
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"Having a billionaire pay the same $200 speeding fine as a low-income earner is unfair.
"Proportional speeding fines are more equitable because they ensure the size of the fine is set based on a driver's income."
Grundy said the current model in Australia "effectively criminalises poverty".
The report noted a distressing example of a First Nations woman who died in 2014 while in custody in Western Australia because she couldn't pay $1000 in fines.
"Accrued unpaid fines can trigger a vicious circle, whereby a criminal record or enforcement actions such as a cancelled car registration or driver's licence leads to a reduced ability to work and pay fine," the report states.
The intitute found traffic fines can be financially crippling for low income earners. 9News
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Zyl Hovenga-Wauchope, executive officer at Financial Counselling Victoria, said flat-rate speeding fines were against Australia's ethos of the "fair go".
He said a proportional model based on income and livelihood would be an important step in equity among Australians.
"In the land of the 'fair go' it is manifestly unfair that speeding fines are levied at a flat rate," Hovenga-Wauhope added.
"While they are basically a mosquito bite for the wealthy, they can be earth-shattering for the poor."
The report acknowledged that an income-based model could be perceived as "revenue raising" and suggested fine money could be diverted to road safety projects.
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