hellaflush
01-12-2008, 07:53 AM
Hoons pay as 2600 cars taken
By Carly Crawford
January 12, 2008 01:00am
Article from: Herald Sun
* Hoons paid more than $1m to get cars back
* Almost half of hoons were probationary drivers
* Road safety groups want their cars crushed
HOON cars are being seized at the rate of 50 a week with hot-headed drivers forced to pay more than $1 million so far to get their machines back.
Bendigo is Victoria's hoon capital and the Commodore the car of choice, latest police figures show.
Victorians will be urged to dob in dangerous drivers by calling Crime Stoppers with specific tips about local hoons, feeding a police intelligence database that will track the road menaces under a $250,000 scheme.
Of the 2600 cars impounded between January and December last year, 27 were locked away after police caught their drivers smashing the speed limit at more than 200km/h.
Road safety groups want Victoria to consider LA-style "crush-them" laws where serial hoons have their cars destroyed and a video of the demolition is posted online as a warning to others.
Traffic police have wielded their new confiscation powers with devastating force since the law came into effect 18 months ago. The figures show:
HOLDEN Commodores accounted for 837 seizures, ahead of Ford Falcons (220).
SOME revheads lost luxury cars such as Ferraris and a Lamborghini.
BENDIGO easily topped the list of hoon hotspots with 90 cars seized, followed by Mildura (44) and Geelong (43).
AT LEAST 44 per cent of hoon drivers were P-platers.
OF THE 1235 drivers charged for improper use of a motor vehicle, 830 were performing burn-outs while almost 300 were sliding over the road doing "fishtails".
Hoons lose their cars on the spot for two days when they are booked for a first offence.
Cars are impounded for three months for a second offence and indefinitely for a third strike.
Before they can retrieve their cars, drivers have to reimburse police the cost of towing and storage - $300 on average.
Since the laws took effect in July 2006, police have seized 3437 cars, which means hoons have copped a $1.03 million hit to the hip pocket.
NSW considering road safety groups' call to crush hoon cars
Road Trauma Support Group Victoria chief Julie Parke said the crushing scheme, with better education, was worth considering.
"These drivers are raising the bar all the time and that is dramatic, so maybe it needs a commensurate response that is dramatic too," she said.
Citizens Against Road Slaughter spokesman Colin den Ronden said destroying a hoon's prized possession would send a strong message.
The concept is being considered by the NSW Government. But the Victorian Government has ruled out crush-them laws, saying it prefers to sell serial offenders' cars and spend the money on road safety campaigns.
About one per cent of drivers caught in Victoria - or 120 - are repeat offenders.
Fewer than five cars have been forfeited to the state since the scheme began.
'Dob-in-a-hoon' campaign to begin soon
Insp Tom McGillian, from the vehicle impoundment support unit, said the high number of P-plate hoons was disturbing.
He warned that even the most minor error of judgment by a hoon driver could be fatal.
Insp McGillian said the dob-in-a-hoon campaign would start early this year.
"There are a number of council-run hotlines but we are in the process of establishing a model for this inside Crimestoppers," he said. "Intelligence will be collected and sent out for action by police."
On Thursday, police confiscated a motorcycle from a 33-year-old Bundoora man caught speeding at more than 200km/h on the Wallan-Whittlesea Rd.
A 19-year-old man on a P-plates spent the new year without his Commodore after he was caught speeding at 156km/h in a 100km/h zone on New Year's Eve.
Police Minister Bob Cameron said the anti-hoon laws were effective.
"The hoon laws take away the one thing these people care about, their cars."
Most cars were impounded between 4pm and midnight, and one in five cars was locked up on a Saturday.
Under a law introduced in November, any driver who leads police on a pursuit can have their car confiscated.
im just glad to see that Nissan/imports werent the top of the list...
By Carly Crawford
January 12, 2008 01:00am
Article from: Herald Sun
* Hoons paid more than $1m to get cars back
* Almost half of hoons were probationary drivers
* Road safety groups want their cars crushed
HOON cars are being seized at the rate of 50 a week with hot-headed drivers forced to pay more than $1 million so far to get their machines back.
Bendigo is Victoria's hoon capital and the Commodore the car of choice, latest police figures show.
Victorians will be urged to dob in dangerous drivers by calling Crime Stoppers with specific tips about local hoons, feeding a police intelligence database that will track the road menaces under a $250,000 scheme.
Of the 2600 cars impounded between January and December last year, 27 were locked away after police caught their drivers smashing the speed limit at more than 200km/h.
Road safety groups want Victoria to consider LA-style "crush-them" laws where serial hoons have their cars destroyed and a video of the demolition is posted online as a warning to others.
Traffic police have wielded their new confiscation powers with devastating force since the law came into effect 18 months ago. The figures show:
HOLDEN Commodores accounted for 837 seizures, ahead of Ford Falcons (220).
SOME revheads lost luxury cars such as Ferraris and a Lamborghini.
BENDIGO easily topped the list of hoon hotspots with 90 cars seized, followed by Mildura (44) and Geelong (43).
AT LEAST 44 per cent of hoon drivers were P-platers.
OF THE 1235 drivers charged for improper use of a motor vehicle, 830 were performing burn-outs while almost 300 were sliding over the road doing "fishtails".
Hoons lose their cars on the spot for two days when they are booked for a first offence.
Cars are impounded for three months for a second offence and indefinitely for a third strike.
Before they can retrieve their cars, drivers have to reimburse police the cost of towing and storage - $300 on average.
Since the laws took effect in July 2006, police have seized 3437 cars, which means hoons have copped a $1.03 million hit to the hip pocket.
NSW considering road safety groups' call to crush hoon cars
Road Trauma Support Group Victoria chief Julie Parke said the crushing scheme, with better education, was worth considering.
"These drivers are raising the bar all the time and that is dramatic, so maybe it needs a commensurate response that is dramatic too," she said.
Citizens Against Road Slaughter spokesman Colin den Ronden said destroying a hoon's prized possession would send a strong message.
The concept is being considered by the NSW Government. But the Victorian Government has ruled out crush-them laws, saying it prefers to sell serial offenders' cars and spend the money on road safety campaigns.
About one per cent of drivers caught in Victoria - or 120 - are repeat offenders.
Fewer than five cars have been forfeited to the state since the scheme began.
'Dob-in-a-hoon' campaign to begin soon
Insp Tom McGillian, from the vehicle impoundment support unit, said the high number of P-plate hoons was disturbing.
He warned that even the most minor error of judgment by a hoon driver could be fatal.
Insp McGillian said the dob-in-a-hoon campaign would start early this year.
"There are a number of council-run hotlines but we are in the process of establishing a model for this inside Crimestoppers," he said. "Intelligence will be collected and sent out for action by police."
On Thursday, police confiscated a motorcycle from a 33-year-old Bundoora man caught speeding at more than 200km/h on the Wallan-Whittlesea Rd.
A 19-year-old man on a P-plates spent the new year without his Commodore after he was caught speeding at 156km/h in a 100km/h zone on New Year's Eve.
Police Minister Bob Cameron said the anti-hoon laws were effective.
"The hoon laws take away the one thing these people care about, their cars."
Most cars were impounded between 4pm and midnight, and one in five cars was locked up on a Saturday.
Under a law introduced in November, any driver who leads police on a pursuit can have their car confiscated.
im just glad to see that Nissan/imports werent the top of the list...