UNDER THE LIMIT drink driving rehabilitation program

Information for Participants

On this page you can find answers to some of the questions you might have about the UTL (Under the Limit) drink driving education program.

If your question isn't answered, please get in touch with us by phoning Sue Taylor on 07 3138 8447 or email utladmin@qut.edu.au

I've just been charged with DUI - what now?

Tell me more about UTL

I want to do UTL

I'm doing UTL

I've just been charged with DUI - what now?

If you've just been charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, you're probably worried about what will happen to you in court.  You'll be talking to a lawyer and finding out what sort of sentence the magistrate might give you.  You might have questions like "Will I go to jail?", "How long will I lose my driving licence for?" or "How big will my fine be?".

Everyone's case is different, so we can't answer all of those questions here.  But we can tell you about a program that might be able to help you avoid drink driving in the future.  It's called UTL - the Under the Limit drink driving education program.

Tell me more about UTL

The Under the Limit (UTL) Program is a drink driving rehabilitation program designed to help you avoid drink driving.

You can choose to refer yourself to the program, or if you have been put on the program by the magistrate, you will have been placed on a Probation Order with a special condition that you undertake the Under the Limit program. In that case you will also have to report to a Probation and Parole Officer (PPO).

Under the Limit program facilitators are people from the general community who have been trained to deliver the program to people like
yourselves. They are there to help you learn about ways to avoid drink driving in the future.

Classes usually have small groups of 8 to 12 people who work together with the facilitator.

The Under the Limit Program is managed by the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) which is based at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane.

You will have to attend your nearest TAFE college for 1½ hours one night each week for 11 weeks. Your Probation and Parole Officer (PPO)
will inform you of possible dates, times, and locations of available Under the Limit programs which are conducted at the local TAFE college.

If you have any questions or concerns about your attendance each week, you should speak with your PPO, not the program facilitator.

More information can be found in the UTL flyer [PDF, 318KB].

Where is the program delivered?

UTL is currently delivered in the following locations:

Brisbane North:  Bracken Ridge

Brisbane South: Southbank and Alexandra Hills

Brisbane West: Bundamba (Ipswich) and Inala

Southern Region: Toowoomba, Roma, Gatton and Warwick

South Coast Region: Logan, Southport and Coolangatta

North Coast Region: Redcliffe, Bribie Island, Caboolture, Nambour, Maroochydore, Caloundra, Noosa, Gympie and Hervey Bay

Central Region: Maryborough, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Gladstone and Mackay

Northern Region: Townville and Mount Isa

Far Northern Region: Cairns, Mareeba, Atherton and Innisfail

I want to do UTL

You have two options:

• Talk to your lawyer about asking the magistrate who hears your case to consider including UTL at the time of sentencing; OR

• Complete the program before you are convicted and sentenced.

If UTL is included in your sentence, you will pay the program fee of $750 as part of, or instead of, your fine.  To do the program before going to court, you should first contact CARRS-Q staff member Sue Taylor on 3138 8447 to get on the waiting list for a program in your area.  Then to enrol, you'll need to send a cheque or money order made out to CARRS-Q for the $750 fee before the program begins.

UTL A3 poster [PDF, 362KB]

I'm doing UTL

Here are some maps of the TAFE campuses  where UTL is held, to help you find your way on the first day.  Ask your probation officer if you haven't been told which campus or room you need to go to.

Some links that might help you in future:

How to figure out what your blood-alcohol level is [PDF, 318KB] (have I had too many drinks to drive?)

Public transport options 

Taxi company phone numbers  (save them in your mobile now!)

Contact details

For more information please call Sue Taylor on 07 3138 8447 or email utladmin@qut.edu.au.