Running red lights, parking tickets and driving at 25 km/h over the limit: Politician and VIP chauffeurs slugged with $100,000 of driving fines
- Taxpayer-funded chauffeurs have racked up $100,000 in traffic infringements
- Infringements notices were given out between January 2017 and October 2018
- On three separate occasions speeding fines were given out in school zones
- The COMCAR program costs Australian taxpayers $20million every year
Taxpayer-funded chauffeurs from the Federal Government's COMCAR fleet have racked up a staggering $100,000 worth of fines in less than two years.
Figures obtained by The Herald Sun have put a spotlight on the number of traffic infringements racked up by the tax-payer funded car service.
The infringements included running red lights, parking tickets, speeding 25km/h over the limit and speeding through school zones.
On three separate occasions COMCAR drivers were fined for speeding more than 10km/h over the limit in school zones.
Taxpayer-funded chauffeurs from the Federal Government's COMCAR fleet have racked up a staggering $100,000 worth of fines in less than two years
The infringements included running red lights, parking tickets and speeding, on three separate occasions COMCAR drivers were fined for speeding more than 10km/h over the limit in school zones (stock image)
The cars are part of the federal government's COMCAR service, a 160 strong fleet of sedans used to ferry politicians, senior officials and the Governor-General around.
From January of 2017 until October 2018 a large number of infringement notices were given out, including six for running red lights in the major city centres of Sydney and Melbourne.
The drivers undergo rigorous training before being given a position as a COMCAR employee.
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The training includes vision skills testing, and driver awareness testing, advanced driving courses, a course in motorcade driving and lessons on how to drive a security vehicle.
'COMCAR drivers are required to maintain their advanced driver training accreditation, which is reassessed every three years,' a statement read.
'Any driver who commits an offence while on duty as a COMCAR driver may be subject to departmental action.'
The cars are part of the federal government's COMCAR service, a 160 strong fleet of Holden Caprice's used to ferry politicians, senior officials the Prime Minister (pictured) and the Governor-General around
It's expected that the extensive training equips drivers with the required skills to drive around senior officials and politicians however $100,000 in infringement notices were still accumulated.
All the fines were passed on to the individual drivers responsible with COMCAR explicitly stating that all drivers are expected to comply with road laws.
The release of the figures comes on the eve of the current fleet readying for retirement in place of more luxurious rides.
The Herald Sun reports that the new fleet will be made up of cars from Hyundai, BMW, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz.
The COMCAR service is overseen by the Department of Finance and runs at an annual cost of $20million to the tax payer.
