New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ROAD TRANSPORT (SAFETY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT) ACT 1999 - SECT 43

43 Menacing driving

(cf Traffic Act, s 4AA)

(1) Offence-intent to menace A person must not drive a motor vehicle on a road or road related area in a manner that menaces another person with the intention of menacing that other person.

Maximum penalty: 30 penalty units or imprisonment for 18 months or both (in the case of a first offence) or 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both (in the case of a second or subsequent offence).

(2) Offence-possibility of menace A person must not drive a motor vehicle on a road or road related area in a manner that menaces another person if the person ought to have known that the other person might be menaced.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months or both (in the case of a first offence) or 30 penalty units or imprisonment for 18 months or both (in the case of a second or subsequent offence).

(3) Application of section This section applies:

(a) whether the other person is menaced by a threat of personal injury or by a threat of damage to property, and

(b) whether or not that person or that property is on a road or road related area.

(4) Defence A person is not guilty of an offence under this section if the person could not, in the circumstances, reasonably avoid menacing the other person.

(5) Double jeopardy A person is not liable to be convicted of:

(a) both an offence under subsection (1) and an offence under subsection (2), or

(b) both an offence under this section and an offence under section 42,

arising out of a single incident.