Dangerous drivers who harm other road users can receive a $900 fine and three demerit points from police without needing to go through the court system, under new legislation introduced today.

Chris Steel, ACT Minister for Transport and City Services introduced the Road Transport Legislation Amendment Bill No. 1 last year. Today, Greens MLA Jo Clay’s amendments were approved, to fill what she called “a gap in the law”: an enforceable penalty where drivers injured road users.

“Many Canberrans,” Ms Clay said, “may be surprised to know that under the previous system, there was an offence for negligent driving and offences for grievous bodily harm and death, but there was no middle ground where a person may be injured, but their injuries do not fall within the definition of grievous bodily harm.”

The new offence of negligent driving occasioning actual bodily harm captures harm that is serious but not necessarily permanent – like major bruising, black eyes, and lacerations, Mr Steel said, that vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists suffer when other road users did not take enough care.

“Fines can be a really effective tool to deter negligent behaviour,” Ms Clay said. “When drivers know they can receive an on-the-spot fine of $900, they will think twice about driving dangerously around vulnerable road users.”

Pedal Power ACT, the Australian Federal Police Association, and community active travel groups had called for fair and simple fines like this, Ms Clay said.

Pedal Power CEO Ian Ross said any crash between a car and a person on a bike was likely to have serious outcomes for the rider.

“As a community, we need to do everything we can to raise awareness of the vulnerability of people riding or walking on our roads,” he said. “Where someone drives negligently and harms another person, there must be clear and immediate penalties. The Clay amendment will provide an immediate resolution, which Pedal Power believes will help improve driver behaviour on our roads.”

Pedal Power first called for legal reform when they learnt the penalty for driving negligently and injuring a cyclist was only a $393 fine.

Tougher road penalties

The amendment is part of what Mr Steel called “a series of improvements to the ACT’s current road transport penalties framework, ensuring there was a clear hierarchy of offences, with escalating penalties from lower level dangerous behaviours through to the most serious negligent, dangerous or culpable driving”.

This includes: 

•           New offences for not taking due care and attention or providing reasonable consideration when driving and riding;

•           New and updated offences for driving and riding without having proper control;

•           New police powers to direct a person to get off, or not get on, devices like e-scooters and bikes with associated penalties where a direction is ignored;

•           Updated penalties for the existing offence of negligent driving that does not lead to injury or death;

•           A new offence for negligent driving occasioning actual bodily harm, to ensure that dangerous behaviour that causes injury to another road user is appropriately recognised and penalised as the serious matter that it is;

•           And higher automatic licence disqualification periods for several driving offences which result in serious harm or death.

Mr Steel said the new laws would help keep Canberrans safe – “particularly those who don’t have the protection of a car around them” – by encouraging responsible and considerate behaviour on the road.

“These new lower-level offences will act as early intervention tools to stop dangerous behaviour before someone gets hurt,” Mr Steel said.

The rules apply to personal mobility devices like e-scooters, as well as other vehicles. The public told the government they wanted a “a clearer framework” for e-scooters “to guide good behaviour and encourage considerate sharing of the road”.

Teaching the public

To ensure that Canberrans are aware of their obligations to be safe and protect all road users, the ACT Government will roll out a significant community education and awareness campaign from this month.

The ‘Share the road’ campaign will be highly visible in public spaces, including on buses, at petrol stations, and in shopping centres.

“These changes reflect our shared aim to stop dangerous behaviour before anyone gets hurt, and encourage Canberrans to take responsibility for keeping everyone safe on our roads,” Mr Steel said.

“All of us have a role to play in working towards Vision Zero: no deaths or serious injuries on Canberra’s roads.”

Ms Clay has more ideas for making roads safer, such as separated cycle and pedestrian lanes, and better education on road safety to foster a culture of care on our roads.

Pedal Power has long advocated for increased awareness of the harm that can be caused to vulnerable road users.

“Minister Steel’s Bill goes some way to achieving that, and with Jo Clay’s amendments, police will be able to issue high on-the-spot fines, meaning a speedy resolution for all parties,” Mr Ross said.

“We hope all Canberrans think before they next jump behind the wheel that the person riding a bike is vulnerable. We ask drivers to take extra care.”