Page 1650 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 3 June 2014
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for the offence of furious, reckless or dangerous driving where an aggravating factor is present is 200 penalty units, imprisonment for two years or both. The maximum penalty for the offence without an aggravating factor remains unchanged at 100 penalty units, imprisonment for one year or both. A person convicted of the aggravated offence is also subject to an automatic licence disqualification of at least 12 months.
When I introduced this bill, I noted that while other jurisdictions have aggravated versions of similar dangerous driving offences, a number of the aggravating factors proposed in this bill have not previously been applied in Australia. The aggravating factors of driving with a passenger under 17 years of age, exceeding the speed limit by 30 per cent and driving in a way that puts at risk the safety of a vulnerable road user are or will be unique to the ACT.
Returning to that last aggravating factor of driving in a way that puts at risk the safety of a vulnerable road user, these provisions have been welcomed by a broad number of organisations representing vulnerable road users. The government believes this provision is appropriate given that furious, reckless or dangerous driving in a way that puts at risk the safety of a vulnerable road user clearly has the potential for a catastrophic consequence.
The government is committed to encouraging greater utilisation of active modes of transport, such as cycling and walking, and we recognise the particular vulnerabilities of users of these modes. The government is focused on actively promoting a share-the-road culture to improve the safety of all road users. While education, awareness and encouragement are important in promoting that culture and achieving the behaviour we want to see on our roads, we recognise that enforcement is also a critical component. Therefore, the inclusion of an aggravating factor of putting at risk the safety of vulnerable road users as part of these amendments is another measure in this government’s ongoing efforts to increase road safety for all.
The bill also contains a consequential amendment to the Road Transport (General) Act that arose from the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Amendment Act. That act created an offence of refusing to undertake an alcohol screening test. The amendments in this bill give a police officer the power to issue an immediate suspension notice to a driver who refuses to undertake a screening test. This notice suspends the driver’s ability to drive for 90 days. Giving the police the power to issue such a notice to drivers who refuse a screening test will ensure that those drivers are not advantaged over other drivers who undertake and subsequently fail a test. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Detail stage
Bill, by leave, taken as a whole.
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