People caught street racing in the ACT could face a prison term for the first time, while drivers caught speeding more than 45km/h over the limit face an on-the-spot licence suspension, under new laws to be introduced by the ACT government.
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The government will also close a loophole by introducing a new offence of trespassing in a motor vehicle and begin work to develop a scheme so health practitioners must inform the government if they believe a patient is unfit to drive, a key recommendation of a coronial inquest.
Transport Minister Chris Steel said the laws would target high-range speeding, street racing and hoon behaviour, reckless and dangerous driving and drug driving.
"It seeks to address these behaviours by strengthening police and court sanctions. It does this by expanding the list of serious road transport offences which are subject to immediate licence suspension and disqualification, vehicle seizure and impoundment and increases penalties," Mr Steel told the Legislative Assembly.
The new laws, when passed, will include increased fines of up to $16,000 for people caught street racing and give police the power to seize and impound dangerous drivers' vehicles.
The Road Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 will expand the list of dangerous driving offences in the ACT. Debate on the bill was adjourned and will be considered by a parliamentary committee.
Mr Steel said the changes to penalties in the ACT would bring the territory into closer alignment with other jurisdictions.
"A term of imprisonment would be applied to the most serious incidents or where a person repeatedly disregards the law. An option for imprisonment is appropriate, given this behaviour can lead to serious long-term injuries or death," he said.
The Transport Minister said the government would continue its review of road transport penalties and introduce more reforms to limit the impact of dangerous driving in the territory. The review began in May.
The ACT government has been under significant pressure to act on the impact of dangerous driving this year, as the road toll climbed to 18 deaths so far in 2022, the highest since 2010.
Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury previously rejected a public push for a review of sentences for dangerous drivers, which followed a teenager dodging time behind bars after crashing a stolen Mercedes-Benz into a police car. Mr Rattenbury said there was insufficient evidence to warrant "a wholesale review".
Mr Rattenbury said at the time the government was "committed to evidence-based justice policy that effectively reduces and prevents crime", dismissing suggestions the teenager's sentence was "soft".
The Attorney-General on Wednesday said the new laws introduced to the Assembly would hold people trespassing in vehicles to account.
"We had received feedback from ACT Policing that there was a gap in the law, when they could prove a person had been present in someone else's car, but couldn't prove they had stolen it," he said.
"This offence recognises that unauthorised entry to a motor vehicle is unacceptable and wrong, and there needs to be a legal response."
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Transport authorities had begun a review of road transport offences in May, after the government handed down its response to the coronial inquest into the death of Blake Corney.
Blake, 4, was killed when a truck crashed into the back of his family's car on the Monaro Highway in 2018.
A coronial inquest recommended a mandatory reporting scheme for health practitioners to report potentially impaired drivers, after it was found the driver who killed Blake suffered from untreated sleep apnoea.
The government in October announced the formation of a law and sentencing advisory council, which Mr Rattenbury said would provide public and independent advice to government.
"A one-off sentencing review will give you a point-in-time answer, but I actually think having a group that can do sustained work and can proactively look at issues as well as reactively really puts the territory in the best position to have confidence that we are examining the issues that need to be examined," Mr Rattenbury told The Canberra Times at the time.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
