By JESSE GRAHAM
POLICE have warned drivers to be wary of unregistered driving, with fines rising earlier this month and potential impacts on TAC claims.
As of 1 July, the penalty for driving unregistered rose to $738, but Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol Leading Senior Constable Graeme Rust said that not paying rego fees could have more drastic impacts.
“If you’re involved in an accident and you forgot the pay the rego, that’s where you can have a big issue,” Leading Sen Const Rust said.
“They (the Traffic Accident Commission) may refuse to approve your claim,” he said.
The TAC pays compensation to people injured, or families of a person killed in accidents on Victorian roads, or interstate if the person is a Victorian resident.
A Traffic Accident Charge is part of the registration renewal that VicRoads sends, and provides insurance if the vehicle’s owner is involved in a crash.
However, benefits for loss-of-earnings aren’t available to the owner of an unregistered vehicle if they’re the driver or passenger in the car in an accident.
Owners of unregistered cars on private land are also exempt from benefits if they are involved in an accident with the car, whether they are a driver, passenger or pedestrian.
“The TAC component … doesn’t come into play because the car is unregistered,” Leadsing Sen Const Rust said.
“Your private insurance could also lapse because one of the conditions is that your private insurance provider usually requires the car to be currently registered,” he said.
With unregistered driving fines totalling about the same amount as an annual registration fee, Leading Sen Const Rust said that vehicle owners should just pay their rego when it is due.
He said the onus is on drivers to ensure their car has current registration, and to ensure that VicRoads is notified as soon as the owner has changed their address.
“The onus is on the owner to ensure that their vehicle is registered and roadworthy,” he said.
“If you’re driving unregistered, you’re liable for a penalty.”
For more information on TAC eligibility, visit www.tac.vic.gov.au, and for more information on vehicle registration, visit www.vicroads.vic.gov.au.
