Page 2437 - Week 08 - Thursday, 6 August 2015
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and involves departures from the road rules and other provisions of the road transport legislation in order for police to develop their skills in high-speed driving, pursuits and escort duty. The road transport legislation currently provides an exemption for sworn police officers undergoing driver and rider training. However, it does not cover police recruits and it is essential for police driver and rider training to be undertaken by police recruits before they are sworn in so that they have the skills and abilities required of sworn officers.
The next amendment in the bill relates to the ACT’s existing vehicle seizure and impoundment scheme. Currently an ACT police officer may seize and impound a motor vehicle if the officer believes on reasonable grounds that the vehicle is being or has been used by a person in committing particular offences against the ACT’s road transport legislation. These offences include menacing driving, speed trials and attempts on speed records. This bill will provide ACT police officers with the power in these circumstances to issue a notice of surrender for the vehicle. The notice will be issued as an alternative to police exercising a currently available power to immediately seize the vehicle and will require the responsible person for the vehicle to surrender the vehicle for impounding by a certain date and time.
This amendment does not change the underlying vehicle seizure scheme but merely provides a more flexible alternative by which a vehicle can be surrendered to police. It will also reduce the immediate burden on the person responsible for the vehicle by allowing him or her an opportunity to remove personal items and make other transport arrangements before the vehicle is surrendered.
Having considered the comments on the bill made by the scrutiny committee, the revised explanatory statement further explains how any human rights limitations that potentially arise from this amendment and from the vehicle seizure scheme itself are necessary and proportionate given the harm that could be caused by the offending behaviours. These behaviours both pose a significant road safety risk and insofar as they often create unpleasant noises and smoke are likely to disturb or distress other members of the community.
The fifth amendment in the bill provides for an alternative verdict for the offence of culpable driving of a motor vehicle. The amendment will provide that the offence of negligent driving occasioning death or grievous bodily harm is an alternative verdict to the offence of culpable driving. This will allow a jury which is not satisfied that a defendant is guilty of the offence of culpable driving but is satisfied that the accused is guilty of the offence of negligent driving occasioning death or grievous bodily harm to find the accused guilty of the alternative offence. This will ensure drivers are appropriately sanctioned for serious driving misconduct that kills or seriously injures other road users and will deliver efficiencies in the judicial process.
The sixth amendment made by this bill is an evidential reform. In many proceedings under the road transport legislation it must be demonstrated that the conduct in question occurred on land that is a road or road-related area. Currently, owners of the land in question often have to attend court in person to give evidence about whether their land is or is not a road and whether or not an area of land is open to or used by the public for driving, riding or parking vehicles. The amendment allows for an
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