Police will be able to immediately suspend or disqualify the licences of people suspected of dangerous driving offences under tough new road safety laws which came into effect this week.

The laws, which include a new offence of driving at extreme speed, passed State Parliament last year.

Under the laws, a person charged with causing death by dangerous driving will have their licence suspended, and police can suspend or disqualify the licence of someone suspected of committing either the offence of extreme speed or death by dangerous driving.

The new offence of driving at extreme speed reflected the serious nature of the offence, with tougher penalties to apply to those found driving at either 55km an hour over the limit in a zone marked at 60 or less, or 80km an hour above the limit in a zone marked above 60.

People found guilty of driving at extreme speed will face up to 3 years’ imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum two-year licence disqualification period for the first offence, and a five year licence disqualification period for a subsequent offence.

The government has also announced changes to road safety laws in response to advocacy from the family of Sophia Naismith, who died in 2019 after being hit by an out of control high-powered sports car.