ACT dangerous driving sentences should be reviewed, inquiry recommends

The ACT government has also been urged to review dangerous driving sentences in the territory to determine whether there is a downward trend towards lighter sentences.

There should also be a government review of leniency for discounts to sentences of serious crimes and repeat offenders.

The Legislative Assembly's standing committee on justice and community safety handed down a report from its inquiry into dangerous driving, prompted by calls for sentencing reform in the territory.

The committee made 28 recommendations around criminal punishments, greater transparency in the justice system and support provided to victims.

Among those, was for the government to review whether sentences given for dangerous driving were trending down.

This recommendation was made after several families who lost loved ones told the committee they had felt sentences were inadequate.

"The committee notes that sentences are unlikely to reach the maximum penalty level even for deaths by the most serious dangerous driving and that no amount of sentencing will undo suffering for victims," the report said.

"Nevertheless, the committee noted that recent sentencing decisions used as precedents for dangerous driving causing death are significantly below the maximum penalty of 14 years leaving victims and families feeling like their loss has not been taken into account in determining the actual sentence."

The tripartisan committee also said it considered culpable driving causing death to be the same thing as manslaughter and the government should consider bringing sentences in line with this.

The maximum penalty for culpable driving causing death is 14 years or 16 years for an aggravated offence. For manslaughter, the maximum penalty is 20 years or 28 years for an aggravated offence.

"The name of the offence should be then changed to 'vehicular manslaughter' to better reflect what it is," the report said.

The government has also been urged to review and streamline ACT legislation governing road safety and dangerous driving.

There should also be penalties implemented for passengers who leave the scene of an accident, this currently only applies to drivers.

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The committee also recommended the ACT Sentence Administration Board increase transparency around their decision making and the board should also have the authority to impose restrictions on driving licences or suspend a licence as a parole condition.

The parliamentary inquiry came after three Canberra families who experienced losing a blameless child on the road combined to call for a review of the way of repeat road offenders were sentenced in the territory.

The families of Matthew McLuckie, 20, Lachlan Seary, 19, and Blake Corney, 4, all gave evidence to the inquiry.

Chair of the committee Peter Cain said the evidence presented to the committee showed dangerous driving was a serious concern.

"The evidence presented to the committee shows that dangerous driving in the ACT is a serious concern and can have devastating consequences," Mr Cain said.

"The committee appreciates in particular evidence provided from parents of victims who have died in road accidents and thanks them for their courage and insights into possible ways to prevent dangerous driving, help police with their enquiries and improvements in assistance for victims."

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