Tough hooning laws welcomed by residents
THE State Government is set to introduce the toughest anti-hooning laws in the country and Upper Caboolture resident and car enthusiast Jeff Newton thinks it's about time.
Jeff lives near Caboolture River Rd, one of the area's hooning hot-spots and hears drivers pushing their cars and their safety to the limit at least one night every week.
The new laws will see an offender's car taken off the road and impounded for three months following the first serious offence.
A second offence within five years will result in the car being sold or crushed.
Jeff said he was often kept awake at night by screeching tyres and roaring engines, combined with the fear of what could come next.
"You're waiting either to hear the tyres blow up, the engine blow up or them hit somebody," he said.
"It's only a matter of time before somebody gets seriously hurt or killed."
The 55-year-old wants more venues for car lovers to test their driving skills legally, something he said would help take reckless drivers off public roads.
"I've always said to my young kids the only safe place to race is on the track," he said.
"I'd encourage all levels of government to support those sort of venues."
Member for Morayfield Darren Grimwade said more than 50 residents had taken the time to write to him and complain about hooning.
"Residents in my electorate have had enough of hoons receiving a slap on the wrists under the previous government's weak laws and penalties," he said.
Jeff loves to tinker with cars and has even built a few racing engines in his time, but he said there was a big difference between what people like he did and the illegal acts of others.
"Some of us knit, some of us sew, some of us are into horses and some of us are into horsepower," he said.
"But there's a clear distinction between motoring enthusiasts and hoons." Residents can report incidents to the Hoon Hotline on 134666.
