46—Reckless and dangerous driving
(1) A person must not
drive a vehicle recklessly or at a speed or in a manner which is dangerous to
any person.
Maximum penalty:
(a) in
the case of a first offence—$5 000 or imprisonment for
2 years;
(b) in
the case of a subsequent offence—imprisonment for 3 years.
(2) In considering
whether an offence has been committed under this section, the court must have
regard to—
(a) the
nature, condition and use of the road on which the offence is alleged to have
been committed; and
(b) the
amount of traffic on the road at the time of the offence; and
(c) the
amount of traffic which might reasonably be expected to enter the road from
other roads and places; and
(d) all
other relevant circumstances, whether of the same nature as those mentioned or
not.
(3) If a court
convicts a person of an offence against subsection (1), the following
provisions apply:
(a) the
court must order that the person be disqualified from holding or obtaining a
driver's licence—
(i)
in the case of a first offence—for such period,
being not less than 12 months, as the court thinks fit; or
(ii)
in the case of a subsequent offence—for such
period, being not less than three years, as the court thinks fit;
(b) the
disqualification prescribed by paragraph (a) cannot be reduced or
mitigated in any way or be substituted by any other penalty or sentence
unless, in the case of a first offence, the court is satisfied, by evidence
given on oath, that the offence is trifling, in which case it may order a
period of disqualification that is less than the prescribed minimum period but
not less than one month.
(4) In determining
whether an offence is a first or subsequent offence for the purposes of this
section, only a previous offence against subsection (1) for which the
defendant has been convicted that was committed within the period of five
years immediately preceding the commission of the offence under consideration
will be taken into account.
(5) It is a defence to
a charge of an offence against this section for the defendant to prove that
the defendant was, at the time of the offence—
(a)
carrying out duties as an emergency worker; and
(b)
acting in accordance with the directions of the defendant's employing
authority; and
(c)
acting reasonably in the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be.
(6) In this
section—
"emergency worker" means a police officer or a person who is an
emergency worker as defined by the regulations for the purposes of this
section;
"employing authority" means—
(a) in
relation to a police officer—the Commissioner of Police; or
(b) in
relation to a person who is an emergency worker as defined by the regulations
for the purposes of this section—the person defined by the regulations
as the employing authority for that person.