塔州政府将引用新的规定没收严重违规司机的车

Road rage crackdown


ANNE MATHER
February 02, 2009 06:31am

THE State Government is set to introduce laws to clamp down on the worst road offenders by confiscating their cars.

As Tasmania reels from one of the worst January road tolls on record, the Government said yesterday it would have the new laws ready to be introduced into Parliament next month.

There is already anti-hooning legislation which allows police to seize cars from hoons but the new laws will extend police powers to crack down on other reckless drivers.

While the detail of the legislation has not been released, it is understood it will provide for the instant seizure of cars from drivers caught speeding at 45km/h or more above the speed limit.

The laws are also expected to crack down on motorists caught driving while disqualified.

The state's peak motoring body yesterday urged the Government to act as a matter of urgency.

"We would like to see the laws toughened up now," RACT chief executive Greg Goodman said.

"A lot of this is sheer stupidity and risk-taking.

"They are not only risking their own lives, but are out there risking other people's."

The call follows a terrible start to the state's road toll, with 11 dying on Tasmania's roads in January -- one of the worst starts to a year on record.

Two people were killed in a horror crash in the state's North-West on Saturday, when a car rolled on the Bass Highway near Leith.

Police said the cause of the crash was high speed, a driver under the influence of alcohol and drugs and the failure of both occupants to wear seat belts. They also said the driver was unlicensed.

The Government is expected to adopt the recommendations of the Road Safety Council, which looked at confiscation as a safety measure late last year.

The council said motorists caught travelling 45km/h over the limit would have their cars confiscated for seven days for a first offence, 28 days for a second offence and more than three months for a third offence.

Road Safety Taskforce chairman Paul Hogan said yesterday drivers who were reckless "deserved the full strength of the law".

"If these people are unlicensed or disqualified and they are caught, then there is a good case that they should cop the severest of penalties -- certainly the most severe penalty that can be handed out," he said.

Infrastructure Minister Graeme Sturges said the deaths on Tasmanian roads over January were disappointing.

"The road toll figures are very sad and disappointing for all Tasmanians, and tragic for those who have lost people they love," Mr Sturges said.

"We strongly urge people to be careful on the roads, observe the road rules, be alert and drive to the conditions."

Liberal leader Will Hodgman yesterday renewed a call for double-demerit points in Tasmania on long weekends and holiday periods.

But Mr Sturges said double-demerit points were not on the Government's agenda.

"The evidence doesn't support the introduction of double-demerit points in Tasmania. We do not have high accident rates on major public holidays," he said.

"The evidence supports the strong presence of police at these times, which is the current practice in Tasmania."

Mr Sturges said the Government was concentrating on broadening the confiscation laws instead.

"With regard to the confiscation of cars, the legislation is currently being prepared for introduction into Parliament in March," he said.

http://www.themercury.com.au/art ... _tasmania-news.html