The NSW government introduced tough news laws in 2008 to make it illegal to throw rocks at vehicles or boats – whether the rock hits them or not.
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The new laws were brought into force less than a week after police questioned three teenagers about a rock-throwing incident from an
overpass in Sydney.
Prior to that there had already been much debate in the parliament
following an incident in March 2008 in which a rock thrower caused a woman
permanent brain damage.
The rock shattered the car's side window, hit the 22-year-old rear
passenger in the head and shattered her skull.
A 25-year-old man was sentenced to four years in jail for the attack.
Then in October last year, a teenage boy was charged after a rock was thrown onto a car in the Illawarra area, smashing through the windscreen and injuring a heavily pregnant woman.
The new laws mean it is no longer a defence for offenders to say they did not mean to hurt anyone and, if found guilty of the offence, could spend five years in jail.
There has been much publicity since 2008 about the dangers of
throwing rocks at vehicles, with police saying it as a stupid and idiotic act which is extremely dangerous and won’t be tolerated.
That’s why it is sad to learn
that two Maitland youths have
been charged following a rock-
throwing incident near the Metford-
Ashtonfield pedestrian bridge across the New England Highway on Saturday.
Parents are encouraged to once again remind their children of the
dangers of such acts – and the penalties they face if convicted.