Vehicle
Impoundment Offences
Some Victorian
driving offences can result in vehicle
impoundment. These offences are
colloquially known as hoon driving
offences.
Impoundment
Offences in Victoria:
- driving
more than 45kmh over the speed
limit
- driving
at a speed in excess of 145kmh
- loss of
traction (burnouts)
- excessive
noise or smoke (burnouts)
- engaging
in street racing
- continuing
to drive after police have
directed you to stop
- drink
driving if your reading is 0.10%
or more
- drug/drink
driving with a prior drink or drug
driving offence in the past 10
years
- driving
whilst suspended or disqualified
from obtaining a licence
- a
second or subsequent
offence of driving
without ever holding a licence
- recklessly
entering a level crossing when a
train or tram is approaching
- too
many passengers on board
(overloading) a motor vehicle
Improper
use of a motor vehicle
Many impound offences arise from what
the legislation calls "improper use of a
motor vehicle". "Improper
use" is defined at s.84C of the Road
Safety Act as:
"driving a motor vehicle in a
manner
which
intentionally causes the motor vehicle
to
undergo loss of traction by one or
more of
the wheels of the motor vehicle".
For example, the offence of careless
driving involving improper use of a
motor vehicle under
s.65A Road Safety Act occurs where
the driver spins the wheels
intentionally. If you spin the wheels of
your vehicle (e.g. doing burnouts and
donuts) the police will most likely
impound your vehicle for 30 days and you
will end up facing charges in
court.
Consequences
of committing a vehicle impound
offence:
Part 6A of the Road Safety Act 1986
allows the police to impound a motor
vehicle driven or owned by a person who
commits a hoon driving offence. If the
police reasonably suspect you have
committed an eligible offence then they
can impound the vehicle for 30 days
without any court order. A court can
also impose a period of impoundment of
your vehicle, or a substitute vehicle,
up to a total of 90 days (i.e. a further
60 days) if you are found guilty of the
offence.
Licence loss is not an automatic
consequence of hoon driving. Some
hooning offences carry mandatory
licence loss, e.g. excessive speed,
drink driving or drug driving. In other
cases it is up to the court to decide
whether or not you lose your licence.
Motor
Vehicle Impoundment
The
police have a discretion as to whether
they will impound or immobilise a
motor vehicle in relation to a hooning
offence. If the police have reasonable
grounds to believe that a relevant
offence has been committed and they
know the identity of the driver then
they can impound the vehicle
immediately without issuing any
infringement notice and before
filing any charges. Usually
the police will call a tow truck to
take your vehicle to an impound
facility. The police can also impound
the vehicle at a later date by serving
you a notice requiring you to deliver
the vehicle to an impound depot.
The
police can impound the vehicle even if
the offender is not the owner of the
vehicle.
This
page contains a summary of
Victoria's impoundment laws and does
not describe all the parameters of
these laws. The laws are quite
technical and complicated so it
might be necessary to seek personal
legal advice if you have a specific
problem relating to vehicle
impoundments or forfeitures.
High
Speed Offences
If
the police detect a speed in excess of
45kmh above the speed limit, or in
excess of 145kmh, the police can
impound the vehicle. If the offender
is pulled over by police, the
impoundment usually happens on the
spot by the police calling a tow
truck. The police can also serve an
impound notice up to 10 days after the
date of the offence. If the offence is
detected by speed camera, the police
will first need to identify the driver
of the vehicle before they can impound
the vehicle. So they will interview
the owner (and any nominated person)
to determine who was driving. The
police can serve an impound notice on
the driver up to 42 days after the
date of an eligible speed camera
offence.
Impoundment
Periods
All
offenders can have their
vehicle impounded or immobilised by
police for 30 days. For some offences
the court can impose a further period
of impoundment of between 15 days and
60 days.
Second
offenders may find that the
police apply to the court for a
further period of impoundment of at
least 45 days. Courts can order an
impoundment of up to three months for
subsequent offenders. The
application must be made within 28
days after the driver is sentenced.
Extreme
high risk speeding offenders, such as
traveling more than 70km/h over the
speed limit (or exceed 170 km/h in a
110 km/h speed zone), are treated as
second offenders.
Third offenders (or
second offenders if one of the
offences is extreme high risk
speeding) can have their vehicle
impounded or immobilised for 30 days
by police. If the offender is found
guilty at court the police can apply
for permanent vehicle confiscation.
The application must be made within 28
days after the driver is sentenced.
Vehicle
search, seizure, immobilisation,
forfeiture.
The
police can enter (without force) your
property to search for your motor
vehicle. You are obliged to tell them
where it is if they ask. For
drink driving and drug driving
offences arising from blood or saliva
samples the police have 3 months from
the date of the offence to serve an
impound notice. For
speed camera offences, the police
have 42 days to impound the
vehicle. For all
other offences, they must serve the
impound notice within 10 days of the
date of the offence.
The
police can either impound the vehicle
by towing it to a impound yard, or
require you to deliver the vehicle to
an impound yard, or immobilise the
vehicle with a wheel clamp or steering
lock.
The
police can direct VicRoads to ban you
from transferring ownership of a
vehicle which is the subject of an
application to the court for
impoundment or forfeiture.
The
police can apply to substitute the
offending vehicle for any other vehicle
that is registered in your name. So if
you are caught hooning in your mum's car
the police can apply for impoundment or
forfeiture of a vehicle registered in
your name.
If you commit too many hoon driving
offences the police can apply to the
court for an order that your motor
vehicle be forfeited, which means it
will be sold or destroyed by the police.
Costs
You
will have to pay the cost of towing
and storage before you will be
allowed to retrieve your vehicle.
The cost of a tow and 1 month
impound in Melbourne is often about
$800.
Appeal
Rights
You
have a right of appeal against an
impoundment or a forfeiture order.
The owner can also apply to a
Magistrates Court for release of
vehicle if the impoundment is
causing them exceptional hardship. You
might want to get legal advice from a
lawyer if you wish to challenge an
impoundment or forfeiture order.
Safe
Driving Programs
If
a court finds you guilty of a hoon
driving offence committed after 20
February 2013 the court must order
that you complete an approved safe
driving program if you have not
previously completed such a program.
If
you fail to complete an approved safe
driving program as ordered then
VicRoads must suspend your drivers
licence until you have completed the
program.
Related
Pages:
Speeding
Offences
Infringement
Notices
Getting
Legal Advice
VicRoads
Impoundment Webpage
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