Ms Moyagh Murdock:

I cannot comment on the actual numbers because I have not seen them but I am aware of the issue of people appearing in front of a judge to say they did not get the summons. However, new legislation is coming in June to introduce a third payment option. Up to now, there were two points of payment and then there was an automatic court appearance where payment was not made. People were then saying they never received the fixed charge penalty notice. If they are appearing in court to tell the judge that they never got the ticket, it means they got something. Now, they will have a third payment option of settling the penalty notice up to seven days before the court appearance. That will address a significant number of issues and improve efficiencies through the court. The new MLR project to link the master licence file with the vehicle will create a much better hit rate in terms of linking who was driving the vehicle with the person who says he or she got the ticket but that "It wasn't me, your Honour". We still have a propensity to chance our arm in court and tell the judge "It wasn't me" or "I didn't get it". That is a cultural issue and there is copycat behaviour there. There is plenty of legislation but electronic summonses would certainly assist in success rates there. It is a cultural issue as much as anything else and people will chance their arms.