Hoon faces being first
to lose car to third strike
From The West Australian
By Luke Eliot
January 24, 2007
A Mt Barker man
could become the first person in the State to have his car confiscated
under the thirdstrike provisions of WA’s tough anti-hoon legislation.
Police will ask Albany Magistrate’s
Court today to declare Matthew Peter Steicke’s Holden Gemini
forfeited when he appears on his third charge of breaching the Road
Traffic Act by driving recklessly.
Under the anti-hoon amendments to the Act, which were introduced in
September 2004, hoons caught driving recklessly can lose their cars
for 48 hours.
A second offence can attract a three-month forfeiture and those caught
breaking the laws a third time can be forced to forfeit their cars
to the State Government.
Police allege that 20-year-old Mr Steicke spun the rear wheels of
his Gemini sedan as he drove it from a grass verge on Uglow Street,
Albany, about 11.40am on January 11.
He allegedly continued to accelerate
along the suburban street and was in the process of cutting a corner
at Townsend Street when he was spotted by a police officer who had
to take evasive action to avoid a crash.
Mr Steicke allegedly made rude
gestures towards police during a short chase that reached 120kmh.
He managed to escape and eluded
police for several days before being arrested and charged with one
count of reckless driving.
By January 14, the cars of 890
hoons had been seized for 48 hours under the laws.
