Police crack down on car enthusiasts
May 7, 2008 by George Skentzos
The latest victim of the tough new anti-hoon laws is a classic Ford Falcon GT valued at $200,000 which has been permanently confiscated from its owner – the crime? No it wasn’t speeding and no one was hurt – it was the driver’s second burnout offense.
Overkill is really the only word which comes to mind when a burnout results in what is effectively a $200,000 fine, especially when it took a full blown police operation to issue it.
Police descended on car enthusiast gatherings in New South Wales on Sunday night as part of Operation Torque which resulted in 72 vehicles being searched, 39 tickets and 18 vehicle impoundments.
The operation involved undercover officers stalking car enthusiast gatherings with hidden cameras for months to document alleged offenses and organise the impending raid – a scenario perhaps better implemented in preventing more serious crimes.
Don’t think that “car enthusiast” is a protective euphemism for the offenders either – the police themselves use this term in their public statements.
“Operation Torque was established after ongoing concerns from the community about the behavior of car enthusiasts in the Port Botany, La Parouse and Brighton Le Sands areas,”
Understandably, those involved descended on the Roads and Traffic Authority impound lot to protest the police action where authorities responded by calling out the riot squad despite no reports of violence.
Car confiscation is becoming a big business here in Australia, with the Victorian government generating over $1 million in net revenue in less than a year from 3,437 auctioned vehicles.
This figure is set to rise with the confiscated Ford Falcon GT to be sold at police auction. Another GT, three Holden Commodores, a Holden Utility, Holden Torana and a Nissan 200SX will be held for a minimum of three months for violating anti-hoon statutes.
Are these anti-hoon laws or anti-enthusiast laws? Voice your opinion by leaving a comment below and let local Government know what they can do to better facilitate motoring enthusiasts.
George Skentzos
Print it: 
car enthusiast, think not…
Looser comes to mind.
Some of these comments are just plain stupid…
For all those of you who condon or perform these circus acts on our public roads, you still don’t get it do you!!!. The message here cannot get any clearer.
Keep it up, they will take your car…
If this behaviour continues on our roads it will only lead to further tougher laws, further heavy handed enforcement which we all don’t want to see. As for all those other police state, terroists, take back the power comments, ‘what nonsense’.
This guy was just a show off and most likely a compelete moron. Mad Max culture is for the films not our public roads.
Bottom line, Very Nice car. Idiot owner.
Now,
Were can I go to firstly inspect & bid for this alleged genuine GT … It looks like it needs to be in the network of genunie law abiding motor enshusiasts…
or perhaps we should let the guy who wants to hide it in a container for ten years have it.. Hey Alec, put your brain in there with it too..
Klaus
ive had this idea for a long time that i would purchase a bit of land somewhere, and turn it into a recreation spot for these problematic so called hoons.
i say charge like 10 buck a car entry and have some sort of snack shop to weed the money out of them for buying burgers and drinks.
set up some sort of fenced area where they can safely do burnouts to impress their mates etc.
you could even have some sort of a skid pan for them to learn on.
i reckon thats whats missing anyway.
looking for investors…………….
Genuine law abiding motor enthusiast = what a waste of a perfectly good bhp and style.
Perfectly good law abiding citizens are morons that kiss cops arse, and drive slow. Pfffff, pathetic loosers, not car enthusiasts.
We have the biggest car and bike enthusiast population in the world, in %, and we have the worst facilities in the world, and the toughest, dumbest traffic laws.
What we need is a national motorsport complex where population could use their vehicles to their max. We need Aussie Nurburgring, open 350days a year (bar some public holidays) where you can come, pay and drive.
WE NEED FACILITIES, AND WE NEED THEM NOW.
How many people you think would use a facility that would be similar to Nurburgring, located centrally between Syd and Melb.
Family weekends away, 2 days of driving on a biggest racetrack in the world. Track would be for both the cars and bikes. Speed freaks heaven, and we maybe even have a big 250mx250m skip pad for these loonies wanting to destroy their perfectly good tyres.
What number you guys think we are talking here.
I know that I would do a minimum of 5-8 days on that type of track.
My guess is that you could pull 25,000 people per year, to do a minimum of 4 days per year, from 18 to 60 years old, bikes and cars.
What do you guys think?
I have to agree with the words of wisdom from good old Grumps. These morons know the laws and they know the penalties yet they continue to push the envelope. Well suffer in your jocks all of you ROFLMAO. As for the wnkr with the Falcon – just how big a tool does one have to be taking a 200k car out on the streets to do burnouts??? Way to protect your investment holmes. For that alone you deserve to lose the car. Then you are so feeble minded you actually get your jollies doing burnouts. I am guessing you are a brain surgeon eh? Oooh wow how tuff are you pushing your foot down hard and fast on the accelerator to make your wheels spin. I think I can speak for most of the others here in saluting you like a god. We would be happy to wish for a quarter of the immense skill and talent you possess to be able to spin the wheels of your car (well you used to be able to anyway).
This sort of extremist enforcement could potentially cause hoons to start using cheaper, older and less safe cars so that if their cars are confiscated, they wont be out of pocket as much. If it is meant to discourage hoons, and improve road safety / reduce fatalities, then there is a risk of doing the opposite. I doubt taking their cars will stop the die hard hoons, it will just irritate them.
wow this truely is overkill. I would think that the owner of the gt would have failed the attitude test and probally given the copper a bit of an ear full. even still this is a rediculous punishment.
how is it fair for some one who robs a bank or a celebrity to steal and get off Scott free but a guy pops a wheelie has to pay 200,000 if the cops tried to take my car they would literally have to take it from me full stop the hole taking peoples cars off them and selling them is a lode of bull crap
What a poorly executed police initiative! BTW how bada$$ is TP in his Camry!
Too mean for the street while he beats his meat!
Hydraulics jump’n up n down, while he slaps some titties around!
A real ghetto hustler with a 4″ muffla
Watch out Toyota-Pimp the fuzz is gonna bust ya!
Either that or you love Toyota and drive a Camry.
Getting back on topic it looks like enthusiasts are becoming extinct because of clueless burocracy.
Furthermore, People who drive irresponsibly ; i.e with a reckless disregard for others deserve to be penalised- It doesn’t take Blind Freddy to ascertain this isnt a justifiable consequence for a mere burnout; But I digress as this has all been covered and the sycophantic government will not react logically. Take solice in the fact that those who can responsibly enojy a spot of spirited driving can do so most of the time without the police watching= provided you show judgement and dont endanger others. Anybody who thinks an empty road in a safe car being thoroughly enjoyed(within reason) is outrageous needs a head adjustment. It’s a real pandora’s box and the greater masses are too ignorant to comprehend the finer details ; so we are ultimately doomed.
We are not doomed, but we need a leader, and we need a church, of a sort. We need a new, big cathedral of speed.
Yep Poison my Camry is bad arse… unlike its Falcon counterparks, it actually runs like day 1 many many many kms down the track.
my escort runs like day 1 and its 30 years old and all original
I hope the owner of the Ford GT appeals the decision and gets it overturned. To all the tools in here who are supporting the police, you don’t even know what the facts are yet you get your jollies from seeing someone lose the equivalent of $200k? Get a life!
I mean read the article, it says that the police were watching and then swooped on an “enthusiast gathering”. For all you know the burnout could have been done in an empty open area where there was no danger to anyone. This is equivalent to entrapment.
The state of policing in this country is disgusting. As others have said, anything where they can make some money is prioritised while other more important matters that don’t generate as much revenue are paid much less attention to or ignored.
What is with the attitude of the powers that be in this country? You don’t need a turbo, V8, supercharged car or even a high powered V6 to go fast. You can go plenty fast in the modern diesel which is totally exempt form these P plate restrictions. But no, P platers are FORCED into smaller, cheaper cars that are physically less safe. They grip the road less and handle terrible and are putting young drivers at risk. At least in a powerful car they the structural reinforcement to provide a safe passenger cell and crumple zones as well as a multitude of other pre and post accident safety measures.
Wake up Australia, you are putting your youngest, most inexperienced drivers in unsafe and dangerous cars.
Prumm last i checked most small cars handle better than bigger cars its the one thing all my mates say about the escort but i agree with the p plater restrictions i mean im not meant to drive my 5.0L vk but i can drive my escort witch is quicker has more power and is lighter and is only got a cam head work and extractors it was the same with the vb it had a Xu1 202 in it with a 5 speed when i got the vk all i could say about it was dam this is slow.
surely you can somehow take it to court.
If you are about to lose 200K anyways, might as well spend the extra 10K fighting for it..
I know it is stupid that the owner didnt pay attention..
but confiscating it for a longer period of time rather than getting it “taken away” from you is a bit harsh.
But if the guy can afford 200K “weekend” toy…. surely its not that big of a deal… well… assuming he didnt take a loan for it and he probably is a millionaire… but still…
TP Says: May 7th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Haha Escort I was only fishing for a response.
I think this anto-hoon BS is becoming a JOKE!!! Ive been pulled over for acclerating harder then usual in a CAMRY!! Makes you wander why the even have accerelators in cars these days.
TP…………….learn English as your diatribe deranged Toyotophilia makes no sense and besides you are so pumped up as you cannot spell and its reasons they have LAW for geeks like you – know it all nothings and experts at zilch!
And you claim to be at Uni…..LOL
counterpark
anto-hoon
wander
accerelators (not to be outdone on how stupid he is as later spells……..acclerating)
uselesss
how does a car run down track uneducated geek???
Like nobody takes you serious internet geek Toyotophilia freak as your basically scamming yourself as you only attempt to prove your worth cutting and pasteing exerpts willy nilly and you take it all as gospel. The only thing gospel of you is your sitting on your hands….is it warm yet!
TP……….TOYOTOPHILIA GEEK FREAK
I to Maximus have noticed TP enticements of late. He rarely comments on anything but the Ford, Holden and Toyota pages. When he does its usually his inane pethetic dribble with no real relevant comments. He clearly live in Toyotaland. Now I’m not knocking Toyota like he does Holden and Ford and everything else non-toyota but these Toyotaphiles are soooo blinkered its unbeliveable.
I posted Toyota recalls under the Hilux blog yesterday, In a period of 2 or 3 years they recalled an equivilent total years production of about a million cars.
I noticed on a website automallusa.com/toyota/recall that in the USA nearly all models in all yars of manufacture have recall noticed made. Of course the Toytaphiles can’t see this cos they are just plain blinkered.
Its not Toyota that pi55es me its the shortsightedness of the moron followers.
NO NAME……………yep mate you are truly right.
TP and DINGO – legends in there own sandpit at kindergarten.
At the end of the day I support all cars as its about change and nobody on here can clearly say……….every car from say carmaker ‘A’ is at top of heap. Toyota are solid and not brilliant. VW to me are making case as leaning towards being a bigger player. Hyundai and Kia alliance is also making concerted effort. Ford to me is dark horse. I have scoured the concept cars and sadly in true fashion Toyota is rarely sighted – aside from Scion, Subbie project and one other. Suprise Suprise! Ford I have found a heap and they are nailing designs in all honesty and I have come across heaps of svelte hotties. You see NO NAME – when all is said and done……………..I like Hyundai i30 ahead of Corolla or Ford offerings. I like the new Falcon ahead of Commodore and Aurion just behind Falcon. I like Astra ahead of Ford offerings, I like Hyundai iMax and iLoad ahead of others. For someone to be obsessed on one car maker (and this applies to everyone( is wrong as!
Inclined to agree with you again Naughty M. Ford Focus is a worthy challenger, certainly in diesel form, I hired one year or so ago and apart from size its a great car. I just wish Ford would spend a bit more on the trim and especially carpets. Loop piles are a bugger to get sand out of. For decent carpet try an Audi.
The Astra is another nice looker to. See your point on the i30, the warranties for Kia and Hyundai are up there with it. good for piece of mind.
Its all down to personal taste at the end of the day.
All you “do gooders” have never laid a set in your life? Probably because you’ve grown up wearing dresses! While breaking the law should be punished by a fine and or loss of points, taking someone car over is utter B.S. No wonder we as a society are becoming more and more violent and snap at the drop of a hat. Next thing the Governemnt will be telling us when we can take a crap too. Speed humps, spped cameras, non-smoking laws, dont do this, can’t do that. For F@#$K sake they may as well start banning cars and footy and anything else that isn’t GAY! This shit only is accepted in the States and the UK. Any Government tries this sht in any other country and they’ll be thrown out! Only us fairy’s in this country accept this crap!
What a bunch of poofters. Why can’t the pigs be like every one else and appreciate a GT Falcon doing a burnout? Its not every day you get to see that, and it takes a real enthusiast to actually take their prized possession out of the garage and actually drive it.
JOHN…………Iam a supporter of cracking down oh hoon heads. Too many gay wads w*nk over cars always playing with them, driving full on and spend too much time tossing over a car. I see plenty of them and its about time you little fairies live in 2008 instead of stomping around wet between the ears like a wound up Hitler doing burnouts and laying a set as you so pansily point out. Take Andrew M’s tip as – except get vacant land with no neighbours within about 5kms bulls roar and drive your car freak boy and wuss it up you ham!
You people love to do burnouts and carry on……would you like it if your next door neighbour played Mozart full blast at 2am. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You would ring the police even!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing wrong with tinkering and having a lap track – just dont involve others with the disruption. There are rules in place for all………dont like it buy the block of land with nobody around or wake up as asking for trouble.
Firstly car enthusiasts are people who buy classic cars are ones that look after their car and don’t do things which would either damage their car or cost unnecesary avoidable costs as they want their car to be at their best at shows. Car enthusiasts are NOT those who show off burning of Rubber or speed. Those people are just show offs and hoons. My cousin used to take his show car 350cc EH Holden to Canberra from Melbourne for shows. He respected his car as do all enthuiasts who want to protect their investment. Burnouts unless done in a safe environment like any type of movement in a 1 tonne vehicle can end in tragedy.
fBTVQ38DETT, is your only way of defense to call people who dont agree with you a faggett like you did to grumps?
We may not agree with all the laws but they are there to be obeyed not disobeyed. Their have been many deaths and injuries caused by showoffs ad that includes deaths at those car meets where hoons have lost control and have hit and killed pedestrians. As metioned my cousin was killed by one. You probably condone people who may be dui at say .05. Only a little bit over, I can drive perfectly safe. 10 minutes later he has accidently run a red light and killed a family of 5 due to a lack of judgement and reflexes to brake quickly enough to stop in time.
No Excuses regardless of car cost being $200 or $20,000. You deserve to lose it if you don’t learn from a mistake.
Well, I agree that the “car enthusiast” should cop a fine. I also agree that there are far too many drivers out there (and at times I admit to this too) who do something without thinking.
But to confiscate the vehicle!!! It doesn’t matter if the car is worth $1 or $100,000,000! Slap a big fine of say $1500 on the driver, revoke his license for 6 months without right of appeal, and put him/her into community service for a year part time e.g. visiting the rehab ward in a major hospital for road vehicle accident victims.
Don’t take the vehicle. All this does is give the Police a ‘bully persona’. It’s like a big school kid taking small kids canteen money. Poor form!
And sorry Frosty, but “car enthusiasts” are not just into classic cars. Don’t assume that those who enjoy new models are cashed up kids who don’t care about their car. Some maybe but not all.
You can actually see the people here that have never done a burn-out.
Until you try it, you just don’t get the feeling of adrenaline it brings.
At the end of the day, nothing is being done, just lots of argueing like 15yr old girls.
It is time for action, to go the the Police and Governments and say something has to be done differently. A petition won’t do. May be a rally or something (the walking to government house type).
But we have to take action.
Am as a big a car enthusiast as the others on this forum but when will people realize that dangerous driving kills.
I am the father of a 5mth old and 17mth old and really feel for this family (see below)
http://www.news.com.au/story/0.....-2,00.html
need I say more…….
Am as a big a car enthusiast as the others on this forum but when will people realize that dangerous driving kills.
I am the father of a 5mth old and 17mth old and really feel for this family (see below)
http://www.news.com.au/story/0.....-2,00.html
need I say more.
When will people learn driving dangerously can kill. I love driving fast as much as the next person but keep real driving on the track. As a father of two babies I really feel for this family. (see below)
“A MAN driving a car that hit and killed a baby outside a Perth home fled the scene before he was tackled and held by neighbours, it was reported today.
Police said they were tonight questioning a 24-year-old man who had been seen speeding before he clipped a car driven by an elderly woman and spun out of control, hitting the child and her mother.” – news.com.au April 18, 2008
Another example is the guy who smashed his old mans Ferrari In Batman Avenue outside Rod Laver Arena. No doubt showing off. Probably spun his wheels at Punt Road Lights started speeding and collected a pole.
If you have the need to do burnouts, doughnuts or test the speed of your vehicle go to a track. How would you feel if in your adrennilin rush whilst doing a burnout you don’t see someone crossing the road as a result of the smoke and collided with them when you did move. Yes maybe the Pedestrian was doing the wrong thing but as a motor vehicle driver you need to be aware of your surroudings. The best part of defensive driving is of being aware of your environment around you, reading others facial expressions or their mannerisms and being aware the unpredictable things do happen. I used to fulfil my obsession with speed when 20 years younger was to race my xu1 around a raceway down near Avalon.
About time the Rozzers did something right. I’m tired of these imbersiles doing burnouts. We all have a passion for cars, so seriously if anyone supports the abuse of a $200,000 hystoric motor car is a moron. We have terrific events like Targa Tasmania and Classic Adelaide where enthusiasts can safeley access the performance of these great cars rather than abuse their potential. Obviously there is also the very serious public safety aspect.I believe the measures being taken to control this issue is entireley warranted.
The loss of a $200k car for a 2nd burnout??? I’m all for tougher laws, but really? $1000 fine would be enough.
Australias Justice system is a joke!
A $1000 fine to the owner of a $200,000 car is nothing…
if fine’s are the answer, perhaps a fine of a minimum of $1500 or the confiscation of the car if it’s unroadworthy or 5% the value of the car…
That way you punish the rich and the poor somewhat equally..
Despite this, the guy had a warning…so “what part of don’t do it again or we’ll confiscate the car” did he not understand?
It’s his own stupid fault, just like speeders.. don’t speed, don’t get caught by the “revenue cameras”, similarly, don’t do burnouts on public roads, don’t lose your car..it’s pretty straight forward!!
Killing somebody, from a static burnout? Please!! You have a much greater chance of endangering sombodys life by doing 10km/h over the posted speed limit, which I’m sure most of you do-gooders have done once for twice in your lives.
I think the whole ‘Don’t speed, dont get caught’ is a total bullsh1t arguement. Blatently low and irregular speed limits are everywhere and can cause more danger than good, especially on country roads where fatigue kicks in.
Hey, you can watch your speedo like a hawk, making sure you don’t do 1km/h over the speedlimit. I’ll stick to watching the road, where all the action is ACTUALLY happening.
Im guessing the family of the 12 mth old baby killed over here would put a much higher price of driving like a hoon. What price to you put of the safety of your family and friends?
Didn’t a queensland guy kill or seriously hurt people during a static burnout display at some summernats type event in the US?
Static burnouts can be dangerous
Gtcortina: So can driving down the street in a Prius…
And that accident was a drag car in the street, attempting a high speed power burnout. Hardly static
Oh ok fair enough.
Of course driving down the street in Prius can kill someone but it is all about minimizing the risks.
People here will obviously never agree, but I think those who like to do burnouts on the street to show off the mates or for the “thrill” are really the lowest of the low when they put themselves before the safety of the general public.
I agree that if there is no one else around it could be far less dangerous but that would be hard to police and for the courts to enforce. A blacket ban on burnouts on public streets is the easiest and safest way to go IMHO.
Every one talks crap.
People who say go to the track and do it, What track exactly???
In Sydney there is the Eastern creek complex. Drag racing is on wed and fri nights, finishes at about 10:30pm. It gets so packed there that if you get there at 5:30pm your lucky to get 3 passes in, as for Eastern creek raceway, if you don’t have a Cams lic you can’t drive on it, plus the cost is way over the top for a young driver, and as for Oran Park, the only raceway in Sydney that actually puts in effort for driver training is being ploughed for houses and it’s not being replaced.
So then, excactly where can i race my Mildly tweaked Corolla and drive like a tool so i can actually learn from my mistakes with out being kicked out????
F***ing no where.
JET12V Says
So then, excactly where can i race my Mildly tweaked Corolla and drive like a tool so i can actually learn from my mistakes with out being kicked out????
You won’t learn from a mistake if it kills you. Do’t give me the wont happen to me male cowpoo because you cannot guarantee that.
I don,t think it will ever be stopped,young guys testosterone,cars,mates,peer pressure and sometimes wrong attitudes and a distinct lack of respect by some of our youth due to no more discipline in our schools . I was lucky to be a farm boy 4000 acres dirt roads motorcross bikes and paddock bashers.Had a ball never killed anyone and learnt alot about car control . I have worked in the motor industry for 14 years and have completed the full BMW driver training programm as well as Ian Luffs driving courses and learned very early in my life it cannot be stopped it just needs to be managed and in a controlled environment. An accesible affordable complex subsidised by the government seems to tick the most boxes for all involved . Let them have their fun no probs ….just not on our roads.
Frosty, frosty, my dear frosty. You seem like an intelligent man, so yeah I’ll explain you a thing of two what i support.
First I am all for BOC 0.00. Never drink and drive. RULE ONE. Same as with banning mobile calls/sms while driving and many other forms of activities that cause impaired driving.
Second, I support guys and gals that actually know how to drive, or actually improve their driving skills. I do not support your statement that says a “car enthusiast” is a person that takes care of his car, and only takes it to shows. No, that person is a show-off, latte racer and a fagget.
The real car enthusiast will spend $$$ and time, and nerves, to make his car go better, stop better, handle better. The REAL car enthusiast will also spin his wheel, every now and then. Why the hell not – Governments support smoking companies, so a lil bit more smoke won’t do nobody no harm ;).
I also support intelligent people and logical thinking. Outright supporting the pollies and the cops, and outright supporting the laws is a nonsense, and yeah only faggets and automatons will support laws without actually engaging their brains to think about it for a minute.
OK, drink and drive and kill a person – yeah, loss of licence/fine, probably some suspended sentence.
Careless drive, swerve around the round, not indicate, not paying any bloody attention while driving, or run a red light – cause an accident and kill someone, what, they may copp a $1000 and that’s it.
Hit a motorcycle rider, kill him and then say you did not see him – yeah, same a fine, nothing else.
This one is my favourite – bicycle rider running a red light and killing elderly crossing the road = $200 fine.
Now you tell me that burnout is the worst thing in the universe. It’s a joke. It’s political correctness gone beyond the joke.Here we have 15 cops not preventing the offence from occuring. They are observing the offence occuring and then they pounce. Sorry, the real police is there to prevent crime, not to observe and entrap. Don’t give me the “making an example” sulk story. If they really think it’s that dangerous to warrant a financial penalty of 200K then they would have prevented it.
Funny how pollies and cops only job is revenue raising and looking good if front of the army of media that support and help them to be voted into the office every few years by a bunch of automatons that never use their brains, or actually think about the laws and the law enforcement principles.
PS: And then we come to the facilities – Calder park drags. Good luck if you can get more than 3 runs for the night, good luck. It’s chockers. Burnout comps, same, chockers.
Track days – good luck with getting anywhere with that. You need to finish a phd before they allow you to drive on some small, short goat track, and then they rip you off with a massive entry fee.
Looks like you need to be a millionaire, buy a Lambo, join the GT series and then, only then you can enjoy cars in Australia.
why does everyone think that the owner of the gt is rich? my father owns a gt he,s certainly not rich but had bought the car 30 odd years ago when they were affordable
Too bad so sad. You break the rules you run the risk. You do it again then you are a stupid. I just wish they would have a 2 strikes and you’re out law for non-australian citizens that break the law. I bet they would pick up their game quickly after a couple have been deported.
Live by our rules or leave. If you don’t like the rules – vote em out!
As soon as you get into a car you are in a lethal weapon. One mild mistake and the cosequences can be deadly regardless of what you do in a car. Yes I remember the Hell’s ride fatal and yes the driver who killed my cousin copped a fine and temporary loss of licence. The judges need a reality check for most crimes. At least the Vic Government are now changing push bike laws to include culpable riding causing death or serious injury instead of just having a fine for running a red light.
Our road toll is still way too high and I support any law that can potetially save lives. That includes any potentially dangerous behaviour on public roads. What people need to do is getting Sandown, Avalon raceway and other raceways to open on a Friday, Saturday from say 9am until 3am. With the extra hours they could get more people attending thus lowering entry price as with longer hours their overheads could still be covered while charging users a reasonable price.
Every death and serious injury or even a injury in generak costs the states heaps of money in medical and loss of productivity. Laws are there to protect the states money. You look at how many road deaths are preventable. If heavy fines and confiscation of ones pride and joy prevents even one serious accident then its worth it not just for the States but also Victims family. Less dangerous driving means less accidents means less funds required by T.A.C claims which also means less people getting fined or losing their car and more money being used to fix roads. Its a wi win situation if people obey laws put in to protect the state and its people.
as for track days can’t comment on moat of the country but in WA you join the WA Sporting Car Club ($220 per year – includes entry as spectator to all events all year, incl V8s which almost pays for the membership by itself) then you pay $60 per ‘tuning day’ where you are likely to run out of petrol and tyres before you run out of time. You are only taken off the track so the open wheelers can run and sometimes they run race car sessions (hour or so at a time) and street reged cars (again an hour or so per session).
This is really good value. I know the deal is even better in Tassie where as long as you are a member of a CAMS club you can hire Baskerville of Symmons Plains and sometimes you may even have it by yourself all day (again around $60).
I know this because I have used track days in both states and it really is a great way to blow out the cobwebs (yours and your cars).
Perhaps things arent as easy in other states….im not sure.