Researchers have found a "concerning level of inconsistency" in the sentences handed down by Victorian courts for driving offences, with drivers facing justice in Melbourne much less likely to be jailed than those who appear in Ballarat.

Researchers from Deakin University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Swinburne University found a ‘‘concerning degree’’ of difference in the sentences meted out for driving offenders between Ballarat, Melbourne, Portland and Sale courts.

Melbourne drivers are less likely to be jailed for driving offences. Credit:Paul Rovere

Offenders in Ballarat are three times more likely to be imprisoned for the same offence as those sentenced in Portland, twice as likely as those sentenced in Melbourne and more than 50 per cent higher than in Sale.

Deakin criminologist and lead researcher, Dr Clare Farmer said she and her colleagues analysed almost 12,000 sentencing outcomes for Victorians convicted for driving while disqualified, suspended, or with a cancelled licence, over the period from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2015.