Victorian hoons to get cars impounded for 30 days, up from 48 hours

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By Brett Davis | May 26th, 2011

Anti-hoon laws in Victoria have just tightened up even further. First-offense hoon drivers will have their cars impounded for 30 days instead of the current 48 hours. The new laws will go into action as of July this year.

Second-time hooners will lose their cars for three months and risk having their car taken from them permanently if caught a third time. Victorian Roads Minister Terry Mulder recently said these new, more stringent changes will be the toughest laws to be put in place in the state, and he hopes it will send out a stern message to certain road users. Mulder said in a recent AAP report,

“It’s going to hurt their pockets, it’s going to have them on the footpath walking rather than driving, but we’re determined to get on top of this.”

Hoon driving includes burnouts, drag racing, repeated driving while disqualified, overloading passengers into cars and high-range speeding. According to the Victorian Police website, ‘improper use of a motor vehicle’ accounts for 48.4 percent of recorded hoon offenses. ‘Excessive speed’ closely follows, making up 39.3 percent. Interestingly, ‘conduct, engage in race, speed trial’ only accounts for 0.9 percent, while ‘careless driving’ only makes up three percent of recorded offenses.

The new laws were announced last night and could affect parents of hoon drivers as well. If a hoon is caught in their parent’s car, it will be impounded as if it is their own car. Parents will then need to go to court to fight to get it back. Mulder said,

“The stigma of having your parents to have to go to the court and go through that process, you wouldn’t want to be the young person involved in it.”

After a hoon driver is convicted, he or she will also have to pay the costs of having the car towed and put into lockup, and could face a fine of up to $2389 if convicted of speeding 45km/h over the limit.

gazza

There should also be a clause in there for doing burnouts & donuts on private property like lawns & driveways,5 years suspension and if they are a P plater 5 years jail!

Jason

Thanks Grandpa.

There is NOTHING wrong with doing whatever you want on PRIVATE property. Although i agree burnouts on front lawns and driveways are dangerous, if i want to rip donuts in my backyard, best believe i’ll do it.

gazza

You can do WHATEVER you want in YOUR own back yard (or should that be your parents in your case) But do it on somebodys elses property and you deserve whatever they through at you including bricks,hammers,shotgun pellets and grenades!

Jason

Yep. Great one there buddy.

If i go to my brothers house, and say “Hey can i do burnouts in your backyard” and he says yes, how am I not allowed to do that and what makes me deserve “bricks, hammers and grenades”

Very touchy feely there! Take the L and move along.

bert

I am with gazza 110%!

“Jason” you seem to have a problem with authority haven’t you been nabbed for hooning yet? you do know it’s only a matter of time.

Cant you see what he is talking about “other people’s property”
I have a beautiful lawn near a beautiful park and the local hoons have done donuts in the park at least 10 times at the early hours of the morning and my grass 3 times, lucky for me and very unlucky for them I got them on the last occasion it’s amazing what a magnum torch can do for a drivers window and also I happen to be 6ft3 and 120kg’s
GUESS WHAT they wont be around awhile and 3 other neighor’s who have had a gut full gave the police there rego numbers.

Good one “gazza” for standing up for your rights!
http://internode.on.net Old Pete

Agree with Bert … had a knob racing down my street (only about 120 metres long). Finally got to the street and turned my flashlight onto the drivers window as he disappeared around the corner. I think he felt the jig was up as I haven’t seen him in over 3 years.

The worst thing about this d##hkhead was he always did this at dusk (when there was/could have been kids around) and always turned his lights off.

gazza

Sorry i meant “throw” and also after the 3rd conviction the hoon’s car should be crushed and handed back the keys FOR SAFE KEEPING!
Simon

It’s throw not through.

Robert

@Gazza, Jason may not be a hoon, you’ve just labeled him as it. everybody will agree that burnouts and donuts on other peoples property is illegal and terrible for that matter. but if you own a big bit of land and you want to thrash that land out with your car, whatever that may be. it’s fully LEGAL, kinda like taking your car to a track to race. what other people have stated is people hooning on PUBLIC parks or somebody elses PRIVATE Property. just not the same, sorry.

chook

Nobody will ever be done over for their actions on private property…..you must really be joking !!!….and while your at it , do you propose that those who live on farms be prosecuted also for learning to drive at a young age ?

Acfsambo

I think he is referring to the property of others (not your own) such as golf courses, front lawns ect. So if an idiot rips up your lawn they should have a harsh penalty.

Carnie

A house here in perth had a burnout done on their astro turf. That wont buff out.

gazza

CHOOK CANT YOU READ? It’s to do with other people’s property not yours #@*#! If you want to hoon with your mate jason take it to a race track and see how good you are, Instead of doing burnouts on someones lawn to impress your mates! I do my racing on a race track, I have no time for hoons who THINK they can drive because they damaged somebody’s property at 3.00am with there bogan mates!

Thrillhouse

Excellent work. I was just thinking that this forum needed a resident internet tough guy. Please keep us informed of your views on all subjects from now on.

Vidahlla

I must say you’ve managed to accomplish sarcasm well. That really gave me a laugh.

chook

yes gazza……fair call , and on that point i agree . I also get really pissed off when hoons do donuts up the dirt road towards my house .

Thema

Crush their cars I say and make them watch…Ha ha!1

t39

So, the vast majority of hoons are not driving carelessly, nor engaging in racing or speed trial. This does not make them sound that much of hoons.

Robert

48.4% of people used their vehicle inappropriately, kinda like the picture showed (which is bizarre). that may include having someone doing a superman ontop of the roof of the car. it’s all hooning

RHD Landcruiser

Nice photo – only thing is it has nothing to do with Australia – try perhaps one of the Arab nations. Everyone knows of, and would have seen some of their special stunt driving techniques (crashes). LHD Landcruiser.

Jon

Yes, that picture is from Saudi. Never seen that picture or real world in Australia. Look out on the youtube site and enjoy

http://electric-vehicles-cars-bikes.blogspot.com/ Paul

What is the NAME of the ego maniac public servant in Victoria who takes it apon himself to impose laws that no other state seems to require?

Stephen

Western Australia has the same laws.

Frenchie

SA have had these laws since 2007. Since last year though they have stepped up their campagn and have impounded so many cars that there two compounds are full.

Aussie bender

You mean that other states should have?
If you don’t hoon, you don’t get caught. It’s simple enough for any bogan to understand really.
Half days at a race track can be had for under $200.
In fact I reakon that would make a really interesting story – CA???

Jacob

Lewis Hamilton is a hoon for doing a controlled fish-tail in Melbourne?

Aussie bender

So you think they designed these laws to target F1 drivers?
Of course not – what an irrelevant comment.

gary

about time,i have one question though in relation increase from current 48 hours to 30 days where are the hoon cars going to be stored for that period, we are running out of storage space.so perhaps we charge them say $200.00 a day for storage and if they cannot pay we send sheriff in. why don’t we just crush the cars and send bill to registered owner. job done

Corkas

So say for example your driving on a hwy. go to overtake a truck and accelerate a bit to get round him, don’t realize as you do this the speed limit drops 30kms.

FLASH!

car is crushed.

How would you feel then?

And i also recall the WA government said not long ago that ‘hoons’ are safer drivers then people those who only speed occasionally and by a small amount.
Well that’s how i read it anyway.

Howdog

May want to read a dictionary next Pal.

Robert

Actually it was a survey that was published but you are right, they did say that. i remember reading it. it is based on that hoons will gather a little bit of skill when they do it all the time but for someone to get out of their nanna ways and speed, they’ve had no experience in that type of driving and more likely will result in crash. i reckon the REAL downside will be for the parents that have their maloo or merc or something and their son takes it out for a little joyride

Mark

park them at melbourne airport!
Phil

Gary, what if the registered owner is not the driver?

Do you want to recieve a bunch of bills when your car is stolen and the thief is caught for hooning?
BionicBF

How are people to have any respect for the police if this comes into effect drink driving is what should be targeted not ‘hoons’ and if you saw the flashing lights in your mirror would you stop knowing your car would be crushed i know i definatly wouldnt

ze scheister

are sidies considered hooning? I would consider it precision driving at an elite level
Supes

Awesome photo! Where did it come from? Looks like something from a Jackass film!
Happy Dude

I guess someone has to start……just think if it was one of your own kids killed by one of these dim wits…… Then I betcha u would love the harsh rules……

Corkas

In circumstances like this i agree that some form of legal justice is necessary,
But the driver also has to live with it for the rest of their live, that in itself for most people is a huge punishment.

Handsome_Al

Well if a driver killed someone by accident I mean during a car accident which not involving any hooning or driving erratically before hand, then it is a huge punishment for the driver who might have the constant nightmare over and over again.. However, if the stupid hooners doing a burnout and thinking that he/she is the king of the world while doing that and out of the blue because of that hooning he/she killed a pedestrian. I guess that hooners deserve to have the nightmare.. And if these kings of the world could not take the nightmare anymore, just go suicide already.. Why bother.. Why on earth do we have to care about the hooners feelings anyway in the first place, do they care about the family members’ feeling who got killed?? I guess not.. Hooners are just a selfish B*****D who deserved to be killed… We care too much about how we treat a law breaker where we dont give a damn about the victim..

Handsome_your_a_idiot

your a F*%&KINg idiot. Nearly everybody who gets their P’s will at some point try** or be a Hoon. Who’s to say your child under peer pressure decided to try to be stupid and accidently killed somebody? would it be in your best interest your son be killed, or brother or for f&^ks sake your father?
3-4 years ago hooning was not such a big issue, BUT drink driving is !!!

and anyway, if i was on my last chance, in which im not*(as well as others) and they see flashing lights behind them, im not gona let them crush my car with out a fight. I rather try my best to get away, dump my car, get a lift to mates, report it in the morning as stolen, big woop. Such a stuipd law

The Web_Star

Great idea. Get them on to the foot paths for some hoon walking. Then after their first offence of hoon walking take their shoes away for 30 days.
supercujo

Nice work CA, display a photo that has absolutely no relevance to Victoria at all.

Mikko

Yeah, that looks like Auburn or Lakemba in Sydney’s south-west, I swear to God! Go the Doggies!

Moe

Dont be racist mate.

Car Fanatic

Then Corkas. You should be more aware of your surroundings and speed limits. Simple isn’t it.

Robert

The punishment doesn’t fit the crime. going over the speed limit to overtake shouldn’t have your car crushed. doing burnouts and donuts…yes. i’m sure you’d B1tch if that happened to you.

wayne

I’d like to the car crush discussion- ever thought of leaving the driver in it. That way they’ll get to feel what it would be like in they car they would most probably hit in their stupidity.
Car Fanatic

I can’t wait to impound some little hoons pride and joy. See if I can make him cry. Hahahaha.

BionicBF

This is why i have no respect for the police

Al Juraj

Try frying bigger fish mate.

nickdl

Those Arabs do some ridiculous things with their Toyotas. Have a look on Youtube at some of the Camry drifting haha.

RHD Landcruiser

Better still, have a look at their hairy Landcruiser drifting and subsequent run over the poor bloke watching from the sidelines techniques..

gates

Can someone post the link to this video? I want to see the Arab getting squashed.

Aussie bender

Love the new law.
Driving is not a right. The best way to teach these dummies is to remove their way to offend. Let them walk and mull it over.

BionicBF

There is a time and place and the police need to react acordingly, there is a difference between driving at 150km/h through the CBD to dropping a skid on an empty road in the middle of the night, people need to get the fact ‘hooning’ isnt dangerous unless the driver is being a complete dickhead. the fact is so called ‘hoons’ and probably the best drivers on the street.

Biker

I’m waiting for the big news channels to pick up on this. Planking is becoming old news and maybe if they hype this up and some dumb nuts caught on to it, they will have something new to sensasionalize for the next month or so.

Andrew M

And if its anything like “planking”, they will actually expose and promote it to a wider audience causing an increase in the problem

UMWHAT

what if i ram a cop car from behind at high speed on purpose is that hooning?

Robert

police will pull you over for absolutely no reason and search your car (without a warrant) probably bretho you to, is that policing?

Car Fanatic

Now you’re just being stupid.
http://CARADVICE WAKE UP

Hoon driving should not be tolerated and it has no place on the public road.

FULL STOP

However the BIG concern in another piece of legislation for me is that more and more the police are being given the power of judge and jury on the spot.

Our buffer for freedom and individual rights is in the Independence of the court system,not some policemen on the side of the road that doesn’t like the look of you or the car you drive.

Chip,Chip away and your rights are gone..remember the anti bikie laws they tried to push through.
Car Fanatic

Police use their discretion in most cases to protect the public. If they choose to take your licence or your car from you, most of the time they have good reason. Funny enough that’s their job.

Joe P

NO, they DON’T have the right and it’s not discretion it’s excersising power. I am all for the vehicle being impounded…….but after the ALLEGED offence has been proven in court, that is every persons right in a supposed free society (which Oz is NOT).

How dare they take someones vehicle because a corrupt copper said so!! Are we not spposed to be innocent until proven guilty? Not in this country…….

Robert

Thet shouldn’t be allowed to pull you over if you haven’t done anything wrong (road rule wise). i don’t know how many times i have been pulled over in my non defectable 86 corona. i mean c’mon what am i gonna do. i feel they just try to get their quota up any way they can

Car Fanatic

Same thing Joe, Discretion and power to decide. You have a dictionary at home, don’t you?

Dirty

Dirty cop are you Car Fanatic?

With a nick like that I guess you just appreciate cars but never drive them fast, right!?

Australian driving rules are simply pathetic but doing burnout’s is childish.

Speeding everyone does it and it should be more tolerated depending on the circumstances but there we go again…

UMWHAT

Well cops get some pretty sad wages so I think they just passed this law to keep cops happy when they impound good cars that they cant afford
Car Fanatic

Dirty? What’s dirty about protecting people from narrow-minded clowns? And I’ve driven my fair share of cars fast, but did it at track days.

I lost my father to a drunk driver, why would I let a moment of selfishness on the road for a little fun risk the lives of others?

I guess you are too feebleminded to understand.

Robert

It seems you definitely have a good reason to hate drink drivers but keep in mind there’s a difference between a drink driver and someone traveling 10 over the speed limit to overtake. a cop will see them both as equal
Phil

I don’t think drink driving is considered “hooning” nor is it mentioned in the article.

http://CARADVICE WAKE UP

After spending a considerable time in the Europe we really do have a narrow minded approach to road safety here.

We never teach maturity,responsibility and competent driving skills to young people coming onto the road.

Most authorities here consider Advance Driving Schools cause drivers to go out and Hoon because they think they are racing drivers??.

Back to Topic..Police should police the law but not be deciders on the penalty.

For minor offenses you give allowance but when you talk about confiscation of peoples own personal property,this should only be decided by the court of the land.

I have no tolerance for reckless behavior on the road and absolutely none for drink drivers but guilty before innocent is becoming the norm in this great country.

Keep sight on the big picture and not the isolated problems we as a society deal with.
qikturbo

If only the government attacked other serious criminal offences with such gusto.
Looks like all these tow truck drivers and storage places are going to make a lot of money along with the government.
These new laws don’t go far enough,the death penalty would be the appropiate punishment for hooning!
Dan R

Don’t get me wrong I don’t advocate hooning but the logic is lost on me.
You see here in WA A drunk driver who is pulled over and fined will loose their license whilst keeping their car.
On the other hand A person caught making “excessive noise”, or accelerating to fast will be fined, loose their car and their license… not to mention the $900-1200 impound fee on top.

This is not even the worst part. The drunk driver still gets to have his/her day in court. (although the license is usually forfeited at the time of charge).
But our hoon looses his/her car immediately.
It seems that every time we pass these knee-jerk laws, we erode our own civil liberties.

my question is how many times has a hooning offence that didn’t involve alcohol or a stolen vehicle take a life versus a drunk driver?

Dan.

Corkas

all stats from sapolice.sa.gov.au

Speed is a major factor in at least 34% of fatal crashes

In 2010 33% of people who died had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05% or higher

thought this was interesting
In 2010 64% of all fatalities occurred on rural roads

Robert

speeding and drink driving especially with those fatalities will go hand in hand. i couldn’t have seen the drunk drivers not speeding

Schuss

Just remember that 100% of Australian road statistics are made up by the Government.

These statistics also have no resemblance to those that were conducted innother countries.
Car Fanatic

That’s not the point Dan, the point is to reduce the number if hooning incidences by having harsh penalties. If the Police weren’t given the discretion to impound the car, more people would do it, making it far more dangerous.

Also on the point of Innocent until proven guilty! Mate you are guilty the moment you are caught performing the act, that’s why arrests are made. Courts are there for two reasons, one is to meter out a true punishment for those caught in the act, two is to determine whether those not caught in the act are guilty based on evidence. The court system is busy enough without adding these irresponsible retards to them.

Robert

Dan is definitely talking about priority. drink driving no matter what you do while intoxicated (speed, burnouts, etc) is always labeled as a drunk driver and not a hoon although they could be doing the same things. i think drunk drivers deserve more punishment that a hoon that’s not under the influence. reading one of your last comments, i’m surprised you don’t agree with him with the drink driving

JEKYL & HYDE

my two cents…

if a repeat disqualified driver is caught driving,or a serious hooning charge is proven against a repeat offender,THEIR CAR should be forfeited to the crown,and later sold at action,or sold for parts,not crushed.this is better than jail time for the offender,and could put a dint in the black market of cars and car parts…

Phil

What if they don’t own a car and it was borrowed/rented/stolen?

JEKYL & HYDE

then return the car to its rightful owner.if the offender owns a car,take that one instead.if he doesn’t own a car,then a fine to the value of the car….

Phil

So you’ll have unequal punishments for equal crimes?

Thief caught hooning in a stolen new Commodore Calais pays a $50,000 fine for hooning and a Thief caught hooning in a stolen 10 year old Commodore Omega pays a $5000 fine for hooning?

Phil

I guess I can’t really ditch your solution as it would actually work well for me.

I often drive over 45km\h above the speed limit on deserted non-residential roads, so I am considered a hoon.
“My” car is registered in another state under another persons name to take advantage of QLDs cheaper greenslips and rego (saves me about $400 a year).
“My” car is 22 years old and is worth basically nothing.

So under your solution, I would not lose my car and I would be fined next to nothing.
JEKYL & HYDE

your 22 year old car probably means just as much to you as a dearer car does to a more wealthy hoon.either way,your both walking.bear in mind that this would be aimed at repeat offenders,not everyone.do the crime,pay the fine.i just can’t get my head around crushing cars.surely its better to strip them and sell for parts…
Phil

1, Why would I be walking? I have a bypass for your punishment which you’ve failed to address.
2, Why does having a old car mean that I am less wealther than a hoon driving a dear car? I earn well above the nation average salary – and I suspect the average hoon earns below the average.
3, My car does not mean much to me, I just prefer to put my money in real estate and the car is reliable, drives well and I don’t have a materialistic need to constantly have the latest toy. Nor have I ever washed the paintwork.

The idea of taking cars as punishment is highly flawed.
JEKYL & HYDE

your walking because you’ve lost your licence for hooning.if you continue to drive your mums,friends car,the cops read your number plate as they pass you,and pull you over again.no licence,haven’t paid your $2k fine,here’s another fine(10 fold say).now your selling your real estate to keep out of doing real jail time.i could do the justice thing all day phil,making it up as i go.don’t go there…
JEKYL & HYDE

and beside’s the fine for stealing a dear car is the same for stealing a bomb car (court/fine/jail) isn’t it phil???
Phil

No where in the article or in your speal, does it mention loss of licences for “hooning”.

Plus I’m still keeping my car and the hooning fine – which you said should be to the value of the car – is still next to nothing.
JEKYL & HYDE

phil,simply continue to drive well in excess of the speed limit,and you will clearly see what happens to ones licence.ever heard of neg driving?

i get your point about the different value’s,and i’m not the law,but it seems to me that that’s the best idea.

i was you once,but then radar detectors were legel.my whistler saved me a fortune.now i just haven’t got the coin to spare to speed and pay the fine.and i hate covert and fixed speed camera’s.i would much prefer a cop to spend to time and write me a ticket…

JEKYL & HYDE

um,first line was “disqualified driver” and “repeated hoon offender”.ask yourself”would they be likely to have a licence”.grow a brain…

Phil

But none of the information in this article states that licences will be removed for committing hoon offences.
Yes disqualified drivers don’t have a licence, but they didn’t nessasarily lose them on account of hoon laws.
So, back in context, I would not nessasarily be walking as you said I would be, as a result of a loss of licence after having commiting a hoon offence.

You still have not addressed the issue of a “hoon” who was driving another persons car which is of minimal value.

You have still failed to explain why you want hoons who were driving someone elses car to be fined the value of that car when cars all have different values, yet the actual offence they are being fined for is the same.

Lloyd

There are some good comments (and silly ones) and i managed to have a bit of a laugh at some of the comments but maybe people should discuss these topics with their driving instructor just before he gives them their licence (or maybe he won’t give them their licence!!)
When you get your licence it generally means you will abide by all the rules of the road.
I know some of you say that speed limlts are too low and maybe they are but you have to realise this is to cater for drivers who arent fantastic like some of you!!

Aussie bender

Or like some people THINK they are.
I’ve done a defensive driving course which was excellent and I highly recommend to every driver. Despite this I am not a great driver. I know what to do to avoid accidents, not how to drive like a pro. Too many people have driving styles that far exceed their ability given normal road conditions. These laws are among the best to target these drivers, which let’s face it, are a risk to us all.

Car Fanatic

Robert, how would you feel if the Police stopped randomly pulling people over for simple spot checks, then the very next day a car hits and kills one of your family. The driver wasn’t speeding or hooning, they were simply keeping an eye out for police because they are disqualified from driving or unlicenced?

If you don’t like the system, then move to Russia. I’m sure you’ll appreciate the Australian police once you’ve had a run in with Russian Police.

Sometimes in this world what seems unfair to you, is actually necessary to catch or prevent the idiots of the world from harming you and your family.
Al Juraj

Our driver training needs to be completely overhauled. If we follow the system of some European countries, our roads will be a lot safer. In Finland, young drivers are exposed to the worst of conditions and taught to control the vehicle with utmost precision, so come the real world, they are prepared.

Right now, a typical Aussie’s manners behind the wheel are a complete irony to his/her courteous, compassionate nature. Most of us are selfish and mindless of others. We disrespect those who want to obey the limit, especially on road works with reduced speeds. We tailgate like pigs, implying the obedient driver in front to yield.

If advanced technology makes a car sense danger before it happens, so should we. We can’t let machines be smarter than us. We must drive proactively, observe traffic and the behaviour of others, then react accordingly. While things like ABS and ESP can help reduce accidents, it’s still up to us primarily in preventing them. We should know our cars and be able to control them 99.9% of the time. It’s also important to keep them in shape, especially the tyres.

Finally, better policing is needed to keep hoons away. It’s not enough to increase the punishment. There should be more cops monitoring our roads. Unmarked vehicles can catch those reckless bastards (because marked cars will make them behave).

BionicBF

If the marked cops make them behave then isnt that the point?

Al Juraj

When the cat is (seemingly) away, the mice will play. Hoons may behave near a marked car, but far from it, their true colours will show. Having unmarked cop cars will keep them guessing, so they can simply behave or get caught unaware.

Sumpguard

I know I’ll get voted down but hooning on public roads is not acceptable. Cars in the wrong hands are more dangerous than guns. That is you don’t actually need to point a car to kill someone and plenty of people die this way on our roads each year.

Proper driver training will help for sure but it will only help those that want to be responsible. Some tosspot that is drifting around a carpark whilst there are shoppers on site as witnessed first hand recently deserves to have their car impounded. So too the bimbo p-plater that was texting her friends in her barina complete with “princess” sticker in the outside lane and almost came to a complete stop (no doubt to change to caps). Driver training won’t help these types of clowns.

Speed cameras are NOT the answer unless they are actually in a blackspot and there are warning signs such as on the Pacific Highway. Police presence even cardboard cutouts of patrol cars under shade trees like once were used that actually acts as a deterent rather than this stupid policy of acting after the infringement (and often death) is wahat is needed.

…..and every state needs to adopt NSW’ roadworthy for rego policy. The number of cars up here with mal-adjusted headlights is staggering .Infact it is almost conpulsary for our taxi fleet to have one headlight out and the other blinding oncoming traffic. Then there’s the latest craze of dazzling oncoming traffic with your fog lights which is also illegal without fog and it’s a habit that is spreading like cancer.

The whole road safety message is a con. It is difficult to believe our various governments are using it as anything other than an excuse to bleed motorists dry with speed cameras when tailgating, undertaking, not indicating and various other offences are rife and not policed. How often do you see ads on TV for tail gating or the correct use of a roundabout? Oh and I certainly don’t blame the police. They are victims of poor government policy just like the rest of us and equally frustrated.

Phil

Some good points, but NSW rego checks don’t look at headlight aim (maybe they’re supposed to but they don’t). Taxi inspections in NSW are done by the Taxi company’s mechanics and they just wave them through probably without even looking. The one headlight out and one on extra bright is endemic to Falcons and I’ve even seen police Falcons driving around like that.
The police have turned a blind eye on fog lights here with about 30% of all cars at night having them on.
Other states have done studys on the roadworthiness of cars in NSW and claim that the annual inspections are pointless.

Why don’t you blame the police? Who else do you think is supposed to enforce the illegal use of foglights, tailgating etc? Here in NSW all the highway patrol do, is hide at the end of a long straight or at the bottom of a hill and waiting for people who will inevitably drift a few kms over the limit. This also seems to be the case for VIC and QLD police.

Sumpguard

I don’t blame them because due to massive underfunding they have been told not to target those issues. I chat to the police regularly (usually at break in) and they are told where to spend their time. Sadly traffic infringements are not high on the agenda anymore. A token RBT here and there to take the really dangerous drunks off the road and the occassional radar setup (usually on school holidays).

Once upon a time they actually had quota to fill but those days left with the introduction of speed cameras. It is not the fault of the police. It is the responsibility of governments to direct the force. Our Cairns station fielded 250 calls for assistance in an eght hour shift a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday night. That’s one every 3 minutes .Some of those don’t get attended purely out of priority. Somewhere in amongst all of that they have to address road behavior. It’s only when you get to see what they do first hand that you truly understand that their hands are tied.

The highway patrol unit does still have that target to meet when it goes out but then here in Cairns that is one car for 135,000 people. How is that enforcement? Don’t be too quick to judge the police without all the facts. The police force is no different to every other government department. Underfunded!!

….and whilst most police publicly support speed cameras I can tell you that privately they think as much of them as you and I.

Al Juraj

So where in the world do all those fines go?

manlunch

Anyone else noticed that the above picture is in Middle East?

Sumpguard

That’s actually a government vehicle on Christmas Island!

Colin

So if I go to Calder Park & enter the Off Street Drag Racing event I can get my car crushed? Wish the media would learn to call Street Racing Street Racing not confuse it with legal Drag Racing….and why do Drunk Drivers get to keep their cars, haven’t more people been killed by drunk drivers than alleged “Hoons” ??
http://www.google.com u all suk

fagg
125tristan250

I got done hooning cuz I lost control on a slippery round about that I was not trying to drift or anything. I had bald tyres not to my attention. At 1 in the morning not a person in sight and got done for careless driving only 3 months after I got my p plates. I was never tought how to drive properly and I think it should be compalsary to attend a defensive driving course. And learn how to actually controll a car to recive your licence not just no the road rules. I have since learnt how to drive properly at one of these driving courses. The fines teach nothing just make the government money. if they were seriouse about stopping hooning, teaching people how to drive and having off street tracks available that is affordable would be the direction they would be going in.
Medoucher

Because of hoons, me and other teenagers have been penalized. we now have to drive even longer until we reach our full licence.
why is it that I can join the army at 18? or drink alcohol, but I can’t drive on my full licence? because of d##kheads and their “Fully sick cars” their cars should be crushed, they should be jailed and fined.