The South Australian government will introduce road safety reform following the death of a teenage pedestrian who was hit by a high-powered sports car.
The family of 15-year-old Sophia Naismith, who died in 2019 after being hit by a Lamborghini while on a footpath in Adelaide's south-west, had pushed for safety reform.
The driver of the Lamborghini, Alexander Campbell, pleaded guilty to driving without due care but on Thursday was acquitted of the more serious offence of death by dangerous driving.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the outcome of the case demonstrated "a need for law reform in the area".
"I think the verdict really highlighted the fact that, in most South Australians' minds, justice hasn't been done here," he said.
"And where justice isn't done, or isn't seen to be done, that raises the question of the need for law reform and that's certainly what happened and I want to respond quickly."
Mr Malinauskas said his government was in the process of drafting new road safety laws and aimed to introduce them to parliament by the end of this year.
That reform includes establishing a licensing scheme for drivers of high-powered vehicles, similar to motorcycle and truck licences.
The licensing scheme would be retrospective, and Mr Malinauskas anticipated a "degree of resistance" from existing car owners.
"I believe it's the right thing to do, I think most of the community think it's the right thing to do," he said.
The government will also strengthen laws to ban drivers accused of killing someone from holding a license until their case is resolved, and ban the disabling of traction control in high-powered vehicles.
In addition, SA Police and the Attorney-General's department will explore adding a "mid-tier" offence between driving without due care and death by dangerous driving.
Opposition Leader David Speirs said on Friday that he supported a review of the current laws.
Mr Malinauskas said reform was needed to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
"If we can prevent one of these accidents just happening once more in the future, then this would be an effort worth undertaking, that the Naismith family can take a lot of credit for," he said.
Mr Malinauskas said the Naismith family had shown "extraordinary courage but also poise in the face of unimaginable adversity".
"These are good people, good people who have been through hell and back," he said.
"And there's nothing I or anyone can do that can truly relieve them of the grief that they're experiencing.
"But for them to have the courage to give me their time and advocate their cause, I think speaks to some very special people."
Sophia's parents Luke Naismith and Pia Vogrin thanked the Premier for responding to their calls for reform.
"These changes will help to make our roads more safe and lead to irresponsible drivers being held more accountable," Mr Naismith said.
"We've not advocated for these changes alone. So many families before us have tragically lost a loved one on the roads and have been failed by gaps in the legal system."
Mr Naismith said he hoped the reforms would receive cross-party support in parliament.
"No changes will bring Sophia back or lessen the pain our family feels," he said.
"However, we do hope that the much-needed reforms will make drivers more accountable for their behaviour on our roads and reduce the trauma for families.
"We do still remain extremely disappointed with the verdict and we're hopeful the DPP will review and appeal the decision."
