Legislation to criminalise street racing has been passed by the Parliament, making it illegal for motorists to get into races and being hit with stiff penalties if someone is injured or a life is lost.

The Road Traffic Amendment Act 2020 was among 20 legislation that was passed by the Legislative Assembly in December last year.

The new law’s definition of “street racing” is a person who operates a vehicle on a road: in a race or in an unnecessary exhibition of speed or acceleration; or in a manner that causes the vehicle to undergo sustained loss of traction.

A person who contravenes that particular section of the law and causes injury to a person commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to a fine not exceeding 200 penalty units.

Additionally, the new law states that the court must order the person to be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for one year or more.

And a person who contravenes that particular section of the law and causes death to a person commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units.

The court will also order the person to be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for one year or more.

If there is no injury or death from street racing, the law stipulates that he or she still commits an offence and can be convicted and jailed for up to two years or a fine not exceeding 45 penalty points. The court will also ban the person from holding a driver's license for six months.

The enactment of the legislation last December comes on the back of calls for authorities to crackdown on street racing in July 2018 in the suburbs of Apia, following the death of a teenage boy in a car crash on Vaea Street.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sa'ilele Malielegaoi had warned in 2018 that he would introduce legislation to crackdown on reckless driving by “boy racers” and directed the then Attorney General, Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff to draft the law.

Tuilaepa said “boy racers” pose a threat to members of the public and described them as “hooligans.”

 “It’s a public nuisance and a threat to the safety of the innocent travelling public not to mention the ruthless drivers themselves,” he said. 

“This type of behaviour is unacceptable and the buck stops here."

“No more will the lives of the travelling public be used as collateral damage.

“This kind of hobby is for people with money and if they have money to spend, than they can afford to finance resources by purchasing privately owned properties for their high spend racing and what not.