Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1A) In this
section —
previous offender means a person —
(a) who
has previously been convicted of an impounding offence (driving); or
(b)
against whom a charge of an impounding offence (driving) is pending;
surrender notice has the meaning given in
section 79BA.
(1) If a member of the
Police Force reasonably suspects that, while driving a vehicle, the driver has
committed an impounding offence (driving), the member must, unless in the
circumstances it is impracticable to do so, impound the vehicle within a
period of 28 days after the day of the offence.
(2) The period for
which the vehicle is impounded ends —
(a)
unless the member of the Police Force specifies a longer period under
paragraph (b) or the Commissioner extends the period under
subsection (3), on the 28th day after the day on which the vehicle is
impounded;
(b) if,
under subsection (3A), the member of the Police Force specifies that the
length of the impounding period is to be 3 months, on the last day of the
period of 3 months commencing on the day after the day on which the
vehicle was impounded;
(c) if
the Commissioner extends the period under subsection (3), on the last day
of the period of 3 months commencing on the day after the day on which
the vehicle was impounded.
(3A) If, at the time
of impounding the vehicle, the member of the Police Force reasonably believes
that the driver of the vehicle is a previous offender, the member must specify
that the length of the impounding period is to be 3 months.
(3B) An impounding
period the length of which is specified as 28 days or 3 months under
this section, or in a surrender notice for which subsection (1) of this
section is the impounding provision, includes the part of the day on which the
vehicle is impounded that is after the impounding occurred even though
including that part of the day makes the period more than 28 days or
3 months, as the case requires.
(3) If the driver of
the vehicle is a previous offender but the member of the Police Force does not
specify under subsection (3A) that the length of the impounding period is
to be 3 months, the Commissioner must, on being satisfied that the driver
is a previous offender, extend the impounding period to end on the last day of
the period of 3 months commencing on the day after the day on which the
vehicle was impounded.
(4) The giving of a
notice under section 79B(1) does not prevent the Commissioner from, under
subsection (3), extending the period for which the vehicle is impounded.
(5) An extension under
subsection (3) is of no effect unless, not less than 24 hours before
the end of the initial period, notice of the extension is given under
section 79B(3) to a responsible person.
[Section 79 inserted by No. 10 of 2004
s. 13; amended by No. 24 of 2008 s. 7; No. 23 of 2009
s. 11.]