High-speed hoons and dangerous drivers will be immediately taken off Goulburn Valley roads after new laws were passed in state parliament last week.
The new legislation aims to crack down on drivers who put other members of the community at risk when they get behind the wheel.
The change will see an immediate licence suspension for excessive speeding offences and for people charged with using a motor vehicle as a weapon to commission a serious offence.
Shepparton Highway Patrol Sergeant Janne Kennedy welcomed the news, saying it was a positive result for local police.
“We are always encouraging new legislation to make our roads safer,” she said.
Currently immediate licence suspension is applied to drivers caught with drugs or excessive alcohol in their system.
Under the new laws, motorists caught travelling 45km/h or more over the speed limit or 145km/h or more in a 110km/h zone will have their licence stripped as soon as they are caught.
The same will apply to anyone charged with murder, attempted murder, gross violence offences and causing serious injury offences if they used a motor vehicle to commission the offence and it resulted in death or injury.
“Victoria Police welcomes the increased penalties for excessive speeding. There is no place on the road for people who choose to drive that fast and blatantly put both themselves and others at risk,” Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said.
The new laws make clear that people charged with committing a serious motor vehicle offence pose an unacceptable risk to public safety and reflect community expectation that they should lose their licence as soon as they are charged.
The changes will also see mandatory licence sanctions enforced, including a mandatory alcohol interlock condition upon re-licensing and requirement to complete a behaviour change program.
“Speed is the number one contributor to road trauma, and is a major factor in about one third of fatal collisions each year,” Ast Comm Murphy said.
“The introduction of more severe penalties will hopefully make our roads a safer place by making people think twice about their behaviour.”