A driver's licence disqualification under s 187 of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) should not be imposed where the vehicle was used merely as a means of personal conveyance incidental to the offending, as this amounts to a gratuitous addition to the custodial sentence. Sentencing judges must consider the Osborne factors (employment prospects, rehabilitation disincentive, and whether the disqualification is an additional or gratuitous penalty) before exercising the s 187 discretion. The scope of the statutory nexus requirement ('in connection with ... the operation ... of a motor vehicle') in s 187(1)(a) remains an open question where the vehicle is used only incidentally.
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