Tough new anti-hoon laws for NSW
4 Dec, 2007
20 Comments 
Under a new set of laws outlined today by the NSW Government, car hoons could face potential jail time for aggravated street racing, burnouts and other dangerous driving offences.
The news comes following the decision to begin destroying cars in crash tests as a drastic measure to cull would-be hoons.
Fines associated with these offences have also trebled to $3300, with police now given the power to strip a driver of their licence for up to 12 months.
Repeat offenders may also face jail time of up to 9 months, where as previously this only applied following a second more serious offence such as colliding with another car or injuring a person.
Car owners and parents are also in the firing line if their car is used by the convicted driver, with measures extending to a wheel clamping program, where cars are immobilised and dumped in owner’s yard at home.
Perhaps if the NSW Government would actually consult these “hoons” to better understand the needs for a cheap, easily accessible race track these sorts of laws would not be necessary.
As it stands now, Australia is quickly following Canadian and U.S. authorities by passing tough anti-hoon laws to crush cars and jail drivers. From preliminary reports from our allies in the US, similar laws have done nothing to curb the hoon-epidemic.
Stay tuned for more knee-jerk reactions from other state governments in the next 6-12 months.
Location: Home / New South Wales, Speeding, Road Rules, Australian Car Industry News / ...
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December 4th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
ive only just got my Ps, and i really do not want to lose my car, so id like to know wat is classified under “other dangerous driving offences”, does it include accellerating quickly off the lights?
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December 4th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Well thats arguable, why were you accelerating so quickly off the lights? Racing another car? Then yes, goodbye car and license.
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December 4th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Never mind the intent of these new laws, what scares me is this: ‘with police now given the power to strip a driver of their license for up to 12 months.’
Good cops would use this properly, whereas I am scared what a bad cop, who is having a bad day, would do with these laws behind him/her.
You chirp your tyres on a white line at the lights and they could take your license for 12 months on the spot. Sure, you can fight this in the court but you will be without a license until it is thrown out. Fucking madness.
Cops shouldn’t be given the power to determine penalties, that is what a magistrate is for.
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December 4th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
$3300 fine, 9 months jail, 12 months license loss, for a wheelie off the lights.
Whilst I no longer see wheelies as fun (but I did when I was 17
) I regard this sort of lawmaking as loony bin stuff.
You young blokes better get your jollies bashing grandmothers, as the penalties are less.
Absolutely insane, the world’s going mad.
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December 4th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
This is complete madness, something along the lines of “we must destroy the village, in order to save it” style thinking.
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December 4th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Oh, lay off that NSW!!! That won’t stop hoons, it will make them dare. BUT IT WILL make them want to stop.
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December 4th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I agree with the article. If the government wants to get “hoons” off the road then build us a burnout/race track that is cheap to use and easilly accessible to all.
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December 4th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
I agree with Reckless1 - $3300 fine, 9 months jail, 12 months license loss just for doing a burnout? I mean seriously its just a simple act of spinning a rubber tyre!
These laws are ridiculous and the penalties are completely out of whack with the offences. The state government should wake up to itself and spend more resources putting facilities in place to promote such activities in a controlled environment.
Seems the goverment thinks speeding, running redlights and drink driving are less serious offences. A quick check of the RTA website reveals that doing more than 45km/h over the speed limit in a school zone attracts a smaller penalty than the proposed new hoon laws. Make any sense in that?
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December 4th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
So this means if I lived in NSW, I take off at the lights and hit the gas too hard, I get a $3300 fine, 9 months jail & 12 months license loss???
Come on! I understand if it were illigal well planed out drag and burnout competitions on the street and they keep doing it after they have already been in troble for it, but taking off too hard and you’re faced with all that has gone too far.
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December 4th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
There is no law against how fast you accelerate. And if the cop trys to charge you for it take it to court.
12 months jail for 1 measly burnout, what quantifies a burnout??? If its blatant hoon type stuff then maybe a night in the slammer but 12 months. You get less than that for drunk driving. J O A K joke
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December 5th, 2007 at 12:26 am
I think it is about time they got tougher with these laws - but its still not going to work.
On paper the laws look good (in the governments eyes) and when looking at them on paper I say to myself “shit better be careful”….which is what most people will say. How many people are going to say “shit better not race, speed, race other cars anymore”
I don’t think the government will support the idea of a race track. Why would they put their name to a race track that a bunch of kids are going to kill themselves on? They all think they are Michael Schumacher.
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December 5th, 2007 at 8:04 am
I also agree with reckless. It seems the only thing cops can do is crack down on motorists. I’m not dirty at the average cop doing his duty and yes there are good and bad cops out there.
But i bet he/she gets pissed off having to enforce these laws and also catching someone red handed for murder, go through all the paper work and hear that some slimy lawyer got them off due to “society failing them” and other nonsense.
They are not looking at all the factors of this problem. what about the insurance companies, finance companies, mummy and daddy that put their kids cars under their insurance policy so they can either own or pay cheaper rates or even worse just whip out the wallet and pay the fines for them?
and yes i know not all hoons drive import turbos or v8s there are alot that do it in clapped out camrys corollas hyundai excells EA’s etc but i think punish repeat offenders but as time has proven tickets or losing a peice of plastic with their photo on isnt gonna deter them that much
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December 5th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Limiting everyone to 2.0L Engines makes more sense and even that is retarded.
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December 5th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Did the NSW gov’t ever consider spending money on getting driver’s ed in to the cirriculum at school instead?
I know it won’t entirely solve the ‘hoon’ issue, but it’d give kids a better understanding of what a vehicle is and isn’t capable of and allow driver development in a monitored environment.
Most parents can’t drive, so what hope have kids got in learning from them. Private lessons are too expensive for most families, and unchecked a probationary driver just develops bad habits.
I think Driver’s Ed is an idea that is being discounted far too quickly.
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December 5th, 2007 at 11:59 am
u CANNOT get in shit for taking off quick,hell u could even rev the fuck out of ur engine in front of a cop station and they wouild only do u for loud exhaust.These rules are SHITHOUSE,im losing my licence because some cop thought i was speeding in a school zone which is a deadset crok.
So now its my 2nd conviction,wat now i better get my hands on some prison greens and there going 2 samsh up my custom VR commodore wagon as well?Fucking joke
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December 5th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
That is just nonsense. Instead of making up laws targeting hoons, why not spend the millions of dollars they take from tax payers and fund some driver education courses?
Learning how to control a car and learning about the consequences of speedind, racing and burnout is the main key in kurbing this behaviour.
i’m 18, and i like to drive quick. Fortunately i have a drag strip and track not too far from home, however why isnt there money thrown into creating a designated drag strip for people to have fun?
Just another revenue raising plan by the government
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December 5th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Oh, forgot to add…
restricting a driver to a car with a smaller displacement or no performance mods is another stupid idea.
anyone could wrap their mums excel around a pole, it just means they have to push it harder than a v8 or a turbo 4.
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December 8th, 2007 at 11:09 am
maad i say maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddd
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December 10th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
The one thing that ticks me off about the NSW Government is their constant use of quick fix tactics on all things related to driving. Tell me why we built a state of the art drag racing complex which takes at least 50 min waiting for your next run and only on a wednesday night, what about Friday and Saturday nights????
And with Hoons being such a problem, why are we closing another great track, Oran Park to build more houses??? Will it be replaced with another simular venue, i don’t think so and Eastern Creek are so full of themselves, they offer nothing. The majority of driver training days are held at Oran Park.
Just goes to show, NSW gov only have dollar signs in their eyes and really don’t care what happens to society.
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February 27th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
These laws aren’t going to stop ‘hoons’ from driving recklessly, they’ll just make it more exciting, knowing the consequences. And why should the police have the right to suspend your licence for up to 12 months when thats what we have a magistrate for!
Thats totally barbaric!!
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