DRIVERS who kill or injure other road users while fleeing police will face a minimum 12 months in jail under new legislation to be introduced to the West Australian parliament later on Wednesday.
Police Minister Liza Harvey said mandatory jail terms of at least six months would also apply to people who drove recklessly while fleeing police.
Driving recklessly is defined as exceeding the posted speed limit by 45km/h or more or driving over 155km/h, Ms Harvey said.
She said the new legislation, which she expected would pass through parliament in the three remaining sitting weeks of this year, would help protect police who behaved reasonably and sought to follow the appropriate procedures.
"The reason we've done this is we need to send a very strong message out the community that we are not going to tolerate the dangerous and reckless behaviour of certain individuals who decide to flee police," she told reporters.
"This also sends a very song message to our police officers out there that if they are acting reasonably and in the public interest, and within the (police) commissioner's policies and guidelines for emergency driving, that they will have a defence and they will know that this Liberal/National state government and this legislation is there to back them."
She brushed aside suggestions that mandatory jail terms should apply to anyone who forced police to pursue them as a way to ensure innocent drivers were not hurt or killed.
Ms Harvey said the legislation also quadrupled the penalty for such offenders, which was currently a $300 fine for a first offence.
There were six deaths on WA roads last year as a result of police pursuits.
On Friday, a taxi driver and a British scientist who was due to deliver a speech on Rottnest Island on Wednesday were killed after they were t-boned by a four-wheel-drive that had earlier been chased by police.
The road pursuit was abandoned after the driver allegedly turned his headlights off, but a police helicopter shadowed him.
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