The Hoon Laws In Practice

[MLCrisis]

Hi, all. You all know about the issues we have with the "Hoon Laws". Now is your chance to do something about them. This thread is for ACT to gather information about the practice of the hoon laws in your state. This is what I said in the similar thread, now a sticky, in WA:

I believe that the "hoon" laws are badly drafted and give the police far too much power. They are bad law! There are sufficient laws without them. The rules of evidence are also being seriously diluted by pursuing convictions on the word of members of the public. Little old ladies phoning up to say "he was going very fast" should not constitute sufficient evidence. Hopefully it does not, but we shall see.

Populist measures are too easy for politicians, but by implementing such poorly thought out laws those politicians fail to do their duty to ensure that the laws they enact are sound. If they are not sound, they bring the whole system into disrespute. More particularly, they place the Police in the impossible position of applying those laws in an impartial manner, when their human frailty means falling short is inevitable. Hence, they themselves become undermined by the very position that these laws put them into.

I would like to compile evidence of the hoon laws in practice. So if you know of poor application of the law, inappropriate actions by police using the hoon laws, the use of questionnable evidence, or similar, please let me know via this thread and/or pm. Please only first hand experience - not "I know a bloke, who's mate's girfriend's brother".

If we compile sufficient evidence, I intend to put a submission to the Government to change the law. Let the punishment fit the crime!

If anyone else has experiences they are prepared to share, please add them on. Good experiences as well as bad. If you were done fair and square, then please say so. If the policeman was reasonable in his/her behaviour, please say so. If they were aggressive and overbearing, let us know. If you were aggressive and disrespectful, let us know. Best to have basic facts here and more detail in a pm.

Thanks everyone. Please note that I am not knocking the Police, they do a hard job that not many people would do. But a badly framed law allows them to overstep their real powers and some of them will use it - because they are not all saints!

So there you go. We need good data to support our argument. We need information in each state to fight this, as no state government will want to go it alone in repealing them.

Please be careful in what you post. This is not intended to be a thread for you to rant or argue. It is to gather facts.

Thanks guys. Go to it!!

Cheers.

[Gus-]

we have hoon laws in the act???

[MLCrisis]

Well if you don't, you will get them soon!

So just give us your experiences of dealing with the cops.

Cheers.

[Helious]

Yes we have a 'hoon's law' in place. The police impound lot is near Belconnen markets across from Shell, you can tell from all the cars with car covers on it. From what I remember, if you are caught hooning, you will have your car impounded for 6 months and at the end of that you will have it given back, and will have to pay for the costs of storage which is like $5.00 a day and for 182 days that comes to above $900. Second offence is confiscation of the car, which is then auctioned in the police auctions. Only difference is the definition of 'Hooning' in Canberra and whether the police consider things like burnouts and drag racing 'hooning'. If I have any info wrong here correct me, as this may be outdated.

I unfortunatly find myself asking 'Where are cops when you need them?' when I have a car charge up to me atleast 40 kmph faster then me tailgate for a km or two (and i mean anycloser and we are connected) with their highbeams on and then overtakes crossing unbroken lines and then trashes in back a gear and shortly disappears.

As far as im conserned if 'hoon laws' means the police started going after the real idiots who endanger lives on the road and have no considerations for anyone else thats ok, but if it means police targetting cars which 'look' like they are hoons or impounding a car just because it looked like it was hooning, I disagree.

I'm quite sure a few SAU ACT members have a story to tell about circumstance where they feel they have been singled out because if the car they drive, or when dealing with over zealous police officers.

I personally haven't had an experience where police have treated me as a hoon because of the car i drive, but rather two time when they have treated me like a car enthusist who takes pride in my car.

[Shell]

As far as im conserned if 'hoon laws' means the police started going after the real idiots who endanger lives on the road and have no considerations for anyone else thats ok, but if it means police targetting cars which 'look' like they are hoons or impounding a car just because it looked like it was hooning, I disagree.

Completely agree.

As for any first hand experiences.... I have never had a problem, so I'd have to say the "hoon laws" haven't really effected me at all. Maybe because my car is so stock, maybe because I'm female, maybe because I don't drive like a dickhead... don't know.

[livo]

IF you dont do anything stupid, then theres really not much to worry about really......The only way to really have your car impounded is to be street racing or doing a burn out.

[zZzDanzZz]

same with me, i havent had any problems with ACT police, or in fact any other police in NSW. i got pulled over for a random licence and rego check last week and the officer who pulled me over was really polite and said my tyres looked more expensive then my car (if youve seen it you will know )

treat them with respect and they will respect you in return. could mean the difference between a warning and a fine.

Edited January 29, 2009 by zZzDanzZz

[MLCrisis]

treat them with respect and they will respect you in return. could mean the difference between a warning and a fine.

I completely agree. Please bear in mind that I am looking for good experiences as well as bad. I am sure that more than a few cops are reasonable with their discretion in applying the hoon laws. My concern is that the hoon laws allow too much discretion to the cops and they are then unjustly applied in some cases.

If all is good with you guys, then that is great!

Cheers.

[rossco_01]

i get pulled over on a monthly basis im not saying im an angle but i do not drive like a wanker as i like to set a good example to the general public driving a skyline puts a big label on your forehead for the public unfortunately. me and this cop are on a first name basis as soon as i see him he turns around and follows me and turns on the disco lights. anyways he hasnt given me a fine as i keep my car in the best condition and fix anything straight away when i notice it. but it is annoying when you get pulled over especially when there is some P plater dick head sitting on your ass and he ignores them and pulls you over.

also as Helious said where are the cops when you need them they only seem to be out at the end of the month handing out fines cause they didnt meet quota for the month.

not being disrespectful to the police but it would be nice to have there presence in the community again not hiding away behind bushes and sitting in the comfort of there station drinking coffee and stuff. seems as the way the worlds going if you playing an online game and are speeding in a car you will get a speeding efine for speeding on the internet (jokes).

just my 2c

[r33skylinegtst]

I got pulled over once for 97km/h in an 80 zone, was polite to the officer who pulled me over and even shook his hand when he let me go. Told me he'd be sending me the ticket in the mail, turned out to just be a warning for <15km/h over the limit.

Like someone said, treat them with respect and they'll give you the same back.

[Sinista32]

Expletive - BIG Expletive!

Is your name chick henry?

This guy does in excess of 30kms over the speed limit (34kms?) gets a warning. and you get a warning. I'm genuinely pleased for you.

You hear it on the news? The cops say 1 in 3 get a warning and thats why Chick got away with not only exceeding 15ks over, not upto 30 k's over but in the 3rd and finall category so he's in the loose your license category and gets a warning. WTF is that BS? What a bunch of BS from seaman swallowers.

Most (99.9% not 66.6%) get arse raped without vas. It so farkin plain its the money NOT safety/presrvation of life by the Constabulary/Government. Death Tolls have NOT reduced!!!!!!! Serious injury has NOT reduced!!!! Revenue has INCREASED significantly!!!

Serious about saving lives - 10's of thousands die per year nationally from cigarette related cancer (taxed not illegal). 14 peeps in the ACT die from road accidents last year. So TAX cigarettes and TAX drivers on the road. Thats what you call WIN/WIN.

I dont agree with lighting your tires up in the burbs, speeding on the major roads causing danger. However if your a slow dumbass who doesnt know WTF is going around you..Fed up with pussy bitch drivers without a clue and fed up with police on highway patrol.

I sooo enjoy driving that my tolerance for the braindead motorist has hit it's limits recently. Road rage perhaps. Sick and tired of tolerating the irresponsible driver and the over zelous road cop on a quota.

Edited January 29, 2009 by Sinista32

[Sinista32]

same with me, i havent had any problems with ACT police, or in fact any other police in NSW. i got pulled over for a random licence and rego check last week and the officer who pulled me over was really polite and said my tyres looked more expensive then my car (if youve seen it you will know )

treat them with respect and they will respect you in return. could mean the difference between a warning and a fine.

Last week $990 fine, potentially from the same cops. My car had just run out of rego and I couldnt afford to re-register till today (1week). I was doing a mercy run to get a person to their work. I was very polite/courteous offerd to go straight home, leave the car where it was and still received the hefty fine.

My Supra has new tyres, rotors, pads, steering rack/pump, suspension, no leaks and all safety equipment including lights etc in pristine order. Required to do a RWC - 1 failure - mid muffler $245. I was not exceeding the speed limit, I had a blood alcohol of 0.0, weather and road conditions perfect.

$1200 - yes it was unregisterd. Coping it sweet.

Fair when you put in perspective to other criminal incidents not pursued that these 10 policeman could have been attending to? Perhaps a stolen skyline, egg throwing idiots, BnE's, dealers, users, shoplifters, assult, murder... the list goes on.

Again - REVENUE!!!!

Ever heard of picking low hanging fruit - less effort is involved.

[zenith13]

I got pulled over twice in the GTR, zero fines, no defects, cautions only, but then again, I slowed right down as soon as I saw them.

I agree that if you respect the cops, you minimize your fine. By giving respect means - accepting that they are doing their job to make the roads safer for everyone, and admit your wrong.

On another note, cops are just like us, they also like to "enjoy" sports cars.

The hoon law, in my opinion, is to minimize the number of hoons on the road. it targets specific type of cars - the japanese imports. The RTA set a regulation that makes ownership of jap imports harder to achieve, especially for young people. It protects Australian car market and minimizes hoons on the road. The rules are there as only deterrant.

I don't believe it's purpose is revenue raising because the government earns so much more money from gambling and alcohol tax.

[TiTAN]

There are just as many if not more idiots in Australian built cars as there are in Japanese ones. If you force an idiot out of one car they are just going to use something else for the same purpose.

[Sinista32]

I don't believe it's purpose is revenue raising because the government earns so much more money from gambling and alcohol tax.

Yes agreed they are bigger revenue raisers and a more open/direct method in comparison.

[RB ONEVIA]

On another note, cops are just like us, they also like to "enjoy" sports cars.

i bought my calais turbo from a cop in melbourne....

[zZzDanzZz]

the revenue idea may be true, but look at it this way, if I gave you $10 then offered you another $1, would you take it or leave it?

it may not be much revenue compared to alcohol, gambling and cigarettes, but it still gets into the billions of dollars

[rossco_01]

when you put it in to a group such as jap imports thats a load of crap most of the hoons are in crap falcons or most common Commodors and its always the P plater college kids that pull skids and hoon cause they think they are the king of the road i remember a while back reading a thread from the meeting spot on fridays when the commodor clubs showed up pulling skids and skylines get the blame not fair IMO its so stereo typical

Edited January 30, 2009 by rossco_01

[Melly]

They haven't really affected me... But here is my little rant about experiences

Those who have seen my car would agree it is a magnet, hard to miss so needless to say as soon as i think of doing something stupid, chances are i would get caught because if the choice was there of pulling over a commodore speeding or pulling over a hot pink import speeding than unfortunately the pink import will be the obvious target...... Yes alot of the time we are targeted because of what we drive but if you dont give a reason to get in shite than you have no worries...

Thus the reason i stick to the speed limit, yes I occasionally hammer it off the lights TO the limit, and very rarely actually feed it to it but i don't do it all the time and no skids etc....

I love my car and have respect for my car therefore i look after it, this also keeps me out of trouble with the police because i give them no reason to target me... I get pulled over ALOT just because they can but not once have they been able to pin me or warn me for anything..

That is all

[Helious]

I havent driven my GTR long enough to get pulled up that much, but im expecting to.