weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

23 Aug 2005 Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2581
TransLink service contracts
The Bill also corrects minor errors in provisions relating to public passenger services in the TransLink area.
Consequential Amendments
There will also be consequential amendments to the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 and the Transport
Planning and Coordination Act 1994 to update references made to the "Commissioner for Children and Young People and Child
Guardian" following the changes made to that position’s name through the Child Safety Legislation Amendment Act 2004.
Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995
The Bill also amends the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 which promotes the safe and efficient use of
roads.
Some of those amendments are merely clarifications of existing provisions or technical amendments while others are more
significant.
In relation to the first category—that is, the clarifications and technical amendments—the Bill will insert a reference to the
appropriate Australian Standard that applies when a police officer is using a laser-based speed detection device. It also inserts the
appropriate Australian Standard that applies to the testing of a radar speed detection device.
The Bill lengthens, to 6 months, the period during which a testing certificate for a stop watch, speedometer or vehicle
speedometer accuracy indicator can be presented to a court as evidence of the accuracy of that device. The Queensland Police
Service uses these devices in the detection of speeding offences and the current testing requirements are tying up valuable police
resources unnecessarily. The new 6-month interval is based on the intervals recommended by the National Association of Testing
Authorities and will ensure these devices remain accurate.
The Bill will insert new definitions of "bicycle" and "wheeled recreational device" into the Act. In line with Queensland’s
commitment to nationally uniform road rules, these definitions are taken from the national model legislation, the Australian Road
Rules.
Finally, the Bill will clarify that offences for unlawfully tampering with identifying numbers on a motor vehicle include tampering with
a vehicle identification number or "VIN". In recognition of the importance of reducing vehicle theft and the re-birthing of written-off
vehicles, the current maximum penalty of $3,000 or six months imprisonment for this offence is being increased to $7,500 or one
year imprisonment.
I will now talk to the more significant changes:
Driver offences and appeals against licence suspensions
There are a number of amendments aimed at changing driver behaviour to improve road safety.
We are constantly reminded of the dangers associated with speeding. However, excessive speed remains a major contributing
circumstance in approximately 17 percent of fatal crashes each year in Queensland. Speeding also contributes to numerous
crashes involving serious injury and increases the severity of crashes. Speed related crashes place a high cost on the
Queensland community through hospital and health care costs, lost productivity in the workplace and the use of emergency
services.
It is essential that the penalties relating to speeding offences are consistent and send a clear message to the Queensland
community that speeding is a dangerous driving behaviour. A review of infringement and administrative penalties for speeding
was conducted in 2003. This review saw the introduction of harsher penalties for this dangerous practice. However, wide
variations in sanctions imposed by courts for these offences have lead to another examination of the issue.
The Act currently provides for a six-month suspension of a driver licence where a person is caught driving at more than 40km/hour
over the speed limit. Typically, the person will receive an infringement notice and the suspension will automatically be imposed.
The matter may, however, proceed to court if the person elects a court hearing or if the intercepting officer believes that the
circumstances warrant a Notice to Appear in court rather than an infringement notice—for example, if the speeding offence is
combined with other offences. Where matters do proceed to court, Magistrates can, and regularly do, exercise their discretion to
order shorter disqualification periods. To bring about greater consistency in the penalties for these high speed offences, the Act
will be amended to clarify that when a court elects to impose a disqualification for a speeding offence of driving more than 40km/hr
over the speed limit, this must be for a period of at least 6 months. A court will still have discretion to impose a longer period if it
believes that is appropriate but it is important that the sentences handed down reflect the seriousness of these offences.
While everybody is familiar with on-road enforcement of speeding by way of radars and speed cameras, there is another
dangerous behaviour occurring in the community which can potentially have much more serious ramifications. I am referring to
racing and speed trials on roads, or more commonly known as drag racing. These are inherently dangerous activities, often
involving vehicles travelling at high speed.
This dangerous practice has received much media attention in the last 12-18 months and appears to be on the rise.
Some of the media in recent times has highlighted the inconsistencies in penalties handed down by the courts for these offences.
Given the dangers of this offence, a similar penalty to that imposed on drivers doing more than 40km/h over the speed limit is
warranted. The Bill will therefore introduce a minimum six-month disqualification period for those convicted of conducting or
participating in racing or speed trials on roads. Again, a court will have discretion to impose a longer period if it believes that is
appropriate.
Other amendments within the Bill relate to administrative driver licence suspensions.
Administrative licence suspensions are automatically imposed following the accumulation of excessive demerit points or a
conviction for a high speed offence.
The purpose of licence suspensions is to encourage individuals to take more responsibility for their driving behaviour and act as a
specific deterrent to road safety offences.
Research shows that licence suspensions are generally regarded as the most effective form of legal sanction for repeat offenders
and an effective deterrent to illegal driving behaviour. Such suspensions are applied following the accumulation of demerit points
or a conviction for the offence of speeding more than 40km/hr over the speed limit. Currently a person may appeal to a court on
the grounds of extreme hardship to keep a licence that would otherwise be suspended. If they are successful they have their full
driving privileges returned without any limitations or conditions imposed. The process is in direct contrast to that which applies for
drink driving offences where a person may be eligible to apply for a restricted or work licence. Such a licence has strict limitations
imposed upon its use.
Approximately 80% of appeals against administrative licence suspensions are successful resulting in no significant deterrent
being imposed. This is a disturbing statistic as well as a clear sign that the current process is not working. Drivers who