WA Hoon Laws Tough On Car Owners, But Revisions On The Way

A MINI DEALER in Perth has had one of its cars impounded for 28 days after a customer took it 70km/h past the speed limit. This latest confiscation follows that of a Perth doctor's Lamborghini last month after his mechanic pushed it 60km/h over the limit.

While WA's 'anti-hoon' laws are some of the toughest in the country, Premier Colin Barnett plans to revise the law in the near future so that an offender's own vehicle is taken away.

"It will be a piece of legislation that will be dealt with, hopefully, in the first few weeks of Parliament and it will simply allow a bit of flexibility to deal with an anomaly that has occurred," Mr Barnett said.

"An amendment will be made so that in a case like that, a driver's car will be impounded rather than the owner's."

Under the current law, vehicles are confiscated regardless of whether the offending driver is the vehicle's owner.

In Victoria last month, Transport Accident Commission (TAC) Minister Tim Holding announced that the State Government plans to crush or sell the cars of repeat offending ‘hoons’.

Mr Holding said the Government is “working through” its options for the new laws, promising that it would work to ensure there would be no unintended consequences for third parties.