Julian Edgar, 50, has been writing about car modification and automotive technology for nearly 25 years. He has owned cars with two, three, four, five, six and eight cylinders; single turbo, twin turbo, supercharged, diesel and hybrid electric drivelines. He lists his transport interests as turbocharging, aerodynamics, suspension design and human-powered vehicles.
Monstrous proposal aimed at the politically weak
So it’s now being suggested that those who illegally street race should have their cars confiscated and crushed. Yes, you read that right: cars destroyed. This is, apparently, what happens in California and those police are now advising their Australian counterparts that this is a good approach to take.
“This is what makes them stop – when you destroy their cars,” Corporal Heiss [of the Rialto police department] told The Daily Telegraph.
“They spend up to $US30,000 making modifications on their vehicles and that loss is overwhelming for them – they are not going to do it again.
“These young kids are scraping their money together to put into their main asset and some of them break down when they see their car being crushed.”
That such a monstrous behaviour is even being discussed shows the utter demonisation of those who lack political power in our society.
There are three fundamental shortcomings of such an approach.
The first is that it is grossly inequitable. In effect, the fine for street racing could be $2000 – or $200,000. The person racing in cruddy old Commodore scores the two grand fine, while the Porsche pedaller pays one hundred times as much. In no other area of law breaking is the penalty set on the basis of the value of the user’s possessions.
Secondly, since when in our society have we destroyed assets when those assets have been involved in illegal behaviour? No not confiscated the assets but destroyed them. So the white collar criminal who has defrauded a bank via a computer in their family home is then forced to watch as their house is bulldozed? The fact that he might have a wife and kids living there is ignored – in just the same way that the street racer’s other uses of his car are ignored?
Thirdly, the intrinsic value of the vehicle is apparently seen as zero. What if someone driving a rare and valuable old muscle car gives it a big squirt away from a set of traffic lights? The car is taken and crushed, irrespective of its significance? Again, let’s apply the idea to some other items of historic importance. The paintings by old masters are destroyed if they’re found to have been involved in some form of fraudulent behaviour?
You need only apply the idea of crushing street racers’ cars to any other area of lawbreaking in our society to realise how utterly inappropriate such a sanction is.
on August 10th, 2007 at 9:20 am
I cannot agree more. If only they applied this law to drink driving as well, then all the high judges and media barons, actors and Lyndsay Lohan will have had their cars crushed too and they would see how rediculous this particular law is.
on August 10th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Sadly this (arguably) unconstitutional law (see 8th amendment) could be easily not be needed if California would do what we’ve begged them to do for a while now… build more race tracks.
I’m from the area, hot rodding and drag racing is a large part of Southern Californian culture and the drag strips have been closing up. In an area of over 20 million, there are 3 tracks usable by the public 2 nights a week with a maximum of 500 cars each. Whats worse is the local police have been known to park outside of these tracks after the tracks close and hand out tickets for “illegally” modifying their cars. Small things like an open pod type air-filter can mean a hefty fine thanks to California’s smog legislation.
I’m with Mark, I think it’s quite unfair that drunk drivers are treated better, yet they cause far more deaths, though any at all is to much.
on August 10th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Very well put.
The scary part of the whole thing is, as you mentioned, people getting their cars crushed because a police officer with a chip on their shoulder saw them doing the traffic light grand prix.
If something like this was put into place, there would have to be strict conditions as to where and how the rules apply. Regardless of this, some cops would find a way to abuse the system.
on August 10th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
I think the idea is great but only for repeat offendors.
To your first point, Fining people to the amount they can pay is a great idea. If people are given a blanket fine of lets say $2,000 than the guy with the $2,000 Falcon will in effect have to pay a massive fine while Mr Porsche will be giving away pocket change.
On your 2nd point. If a gun is used in a murder if its destroyed. If streetracers need a car for the family they they shouldn’t race in the first place
Thirdly why should an individual with a rare car be treated differently to one with a common car? Once again if you don’t want your car crushed don’t race on the street.
on August 10th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
One of my mates was driving home from work late one night. Unbeknownst to him, some person or persons had been doing burnouts there earlier in the evening and had put oil on the road. Being dark, he didn’t see the oil and skidded, almost crashing his car into the gutter. He managed to pull it up but the cops confiscated his car on the spot for “aggravated burnout”. They probably just made a decision based on his car (sII rx7).
Now, because the police had absolutely no basis for the charge, the case was thrown out of court, and my mate was awarded court costs. The police also falsified evidence (but this point was never pursued further). My mate got his car back – after 4 months in the inpound yard! (the police/DPP refused to see reason at pre-trial conferences, so it went to trial). No compensation for loss of use of the car, nothing.
As unfair as this outcome was, it would have been even more unjust if the car had been destroyed.
on August 10th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Yet another idea I’m sure we can thank Harold “Screwball” Scruby for! This non-elected master of his own domain (Honestly: Chairman of the Pedestrian ‘Council’ of Australia -it sounds really official doesn’t it…. what a tosser) thinks he has the right to make comment for the rest of us. After the crackdown on street racing he’s got his stupid face onto the TV again bleating on about how these street races are spawn of the devil, or other such rubbish…Mate, you’re one person with an opinion… and you know what they say about opinions… This all comes back to driver education and training, which is far less profitable for the government that fines.
I’d like to know the real story of the accident that started all this (the unfortunate elderly couple who were killed on Great Western Highway). I’ll conceed the spawn of the devil… i mean the people involved in a traffic light GP were doing the wrong thing.. but i wonder if the elderly couple just pulled out into the road without looking? That’s exactly what an elderly driver I know did recently, with fortunately less disasterous results….
Back to the topic – the decision makers need to be much clearer about when they would be crushing cars, I see this only really as an option for a multiple offender, and even then, what’s wrong with confiscating the car and selling it at auction? – In this day of being ‘green’ crushing a car is an amazing waste of resources.
On a side note, I was looking up Screwby’s site and guessed at ‘www.pca.com.au’…a far more appropriate site!
on August 11th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Re “cubing” Its a radical solution for a serious social problem; the Bogans who endanger others just dont respond to reason. Repeat offenders ofcourse are the target of such radical solutions and personally I’d want these fools inside the car when it was crushed. I love cars and enjoy driving but sadly there is a subclass of deviants who bring disrepute to decent and responsible car enthusiasts and if said deviants suffer some harsh penalties then that may well be the price of achieving the greater good. Public roads (or public anything for that matter) should be kept clean, safe and decent for all and antisocial behaviour should be severly punished.
on August 11th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Although I do not agree with the laws, I feel I should play the devils advocate here.
I would argue that having cars permenantly confiscated or destroyed is equitable, almost like a sliding scale tax system.
The tax, for driving irresponsibly, is loss of car, rather than a flate rate fine.
A flat rate fine/tax, by definition, is inefficient and inequitable, regardless of how much the fine/tax is. You will always be charging too high a fine for the poor and too low a fine for the rich.
So by simply confiscating or destroying the offenders car, you are:
1. imposing a fine that the offender can afford, and
2. imposing a fine that is clearly relative to the offenders own fiscal situation.
The major problem with these laws is that they are open to abuse by police, as anecdotally we seem to always hear about. Unfortunately, this is a problem with the system, not the law.
But hey, in the end, we can discuss this to the n-th degree on here, nothing will change. If you are really offended by this law, arrange a petition or something, you might actually get somewhere?
on August 11th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Bob, you’ve just put all the street racers into the one category; Bogans. Are you that ignorant? Obviously you are. I own a 2003 SS Commodore. I suppose that makes me a bogan too because I own a V8 Commo. What about the BMW X5 driver that wanted to drag me at the lights last time I was in Perth? Is he a bogan too? I’ve never seen a bogan drive a BMW before, especially one that was worth over $100,000. Wake up Bob, it’s not as limited as your narrow mind tells you.
James, just because someone owns/drives a car, doesnt mean they can afford to lose it! I had to get a loan out to buy my car, as so many other people do. If I lost my car, I’d still owe $25,000 on it. I can’t sell a crushed car to get some money back to pay off the loan. I’d have to continue paying off the loan with nothing to show for another few years. I bet to that you’ll say, “Well I bet you wont street race again…”. Maybe, maybe not, but what I would have to do is go further into debt to buy another car, and Australia, let alone the world, is already in enough debt as it is. Crushing cars is a ridiculous idea.
MY POINT:
Apparently, the best way to teach “kids” (even though it was a good 40 something year old that tried to drag me in his X5) not to street race is to crush their cars. Does this mean the best way to teach our kids at school is to scrunch up the page in front of them and drop it on their desk when they get a few answers wrong? In principal, there’s very little difference.
Evan Smith.
P.S.
I don’t condone street racing. I actually go to the Quit (Kwinana) Motorplex to drag race. You actually get a piece of paper at the end that isn’t a fine. However, the Quit Motorplex is only open during summer. If the government wants people to stop racing on the streets, how about they put funding into something like helping keep the motorplex open year round. State governments net tens of millions of dollars in pure revenue annually due to speeding fines alone, how about they actually put some of this into CONTRUCTIVE methods rather than pouring it into their personal campaigns.
on August 12th, 2007 at 10:48 am
I they are seriously considering this approach, perhaps other ‘weapons’ used to commit crime should be cubed as well. Shoplifter’s hands, perverts eyes, rapists genitals etc will all be cubed and handed back to those that wielded those weapons to commit crime. Those committing fraud would of course have to have their brains extracted and cubed – can’t have dangerous weapons out there can we.
on August 13th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Evan:
I do not buy into the idea that those who have loans are in a worse off position than those who own their cars outright.
The end result is the same. You will lose your car, and your car is a reflection of your income. If you have a car and a loan that you cannot afford, I suggest you downgrade…
But having said that, you cannot argue that those with loans are in a worse off position than those without loans. The only difference between two people (one with a loan, one without) who have their cars confiscated and crushed is that the unlucky sod with the loan has to pay interest on top of their ‘fine’.
I do not agree with your analogy between crushing cars and scrunching up wrong answers. I think a better analogy would be that crushing cars of repeat offenders is more like putting a young repeat offender into a corrections facility. You may not be physically scrunching anything up, but you are teaching the individual a lesson, one that they will either take heed of or ignore.
Andy:
I do detect the sarcasm in your post, however, I think that you are taking things a little bit too far. What you have suggested is obviously a provocative comment intended to make us all think, but I still had a few problems with it, mainly being that this law is suggesting that an offenders possession be confiscated or destroyed. Not their body parts. It would not be unreasonable to expect that an offender who had used a gun to commit a crime has their guns confiscated. The same goes with any infringement regarding drugs.
A general comment:
People just seem to be focusing on street racing… you know, the whole traffic light grand prix thing. Sure, that’s a major problem… but what about drifting on public streets? I have a number of acquaintances who are it, and I know that it is only a matter of time before one of them kills themselves or someone else.
You cannot keep blaming these matters on the governments for not providing facilities. Sure, it is an aspect of the problem, but you cannot ignore the fact that as an individual, you make choices and are responsible for these choices. If you do a burnout, get sideways through a corner, or drag someone at the lights, you are making a choice to break the law and it’s as simple as that.
on August 15th, 2007 at 7:17 am
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22245424-5007146,00.html – psychological fitness tests for drivers to weed out hoons. Getting more and more bizarre…
on August 15th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
I am all for it. If both the law and the penalty are well publicised, then if someone decides to wilfully break it, shame on them. Any complaints fall on my deaf ears because I am not responsible for their lack of self control. Evidently they consider the potential punishment worth the crime.
Incidentally, that’s why I have zero sympathy for people caught speeding. It doesn’t matter if someone believes a law is stupid, it must either be obeyed, or disregarded and the consequences faced. And if the latter is chosen, then bearing the punishment has been willingly chosed by the perpetrator.
I think it is a punishment that fits the crime well. Cars are different to computers used to commit fraud etc, because to many, they are an extension of their personality, an expression of their identity etc, with emotional attachment.
And in our society, I am all for doing whatever it takes to get through to some of the thoughtless, careless and senseless drivers around. Maybe it will get people to wake up and think about their actions. I really, really hope so!
on August 23rd, 2007 at 9:45 am
Having been in the unfortunate position of being accused of ‘street racing’ and threatened with having my car confiscated and copping a huge fine, I can see how having my car taken away from me would have been a major bummer. Having it crushed would have been disasterous… But as had been said, it was in the eyes of the police officer that thought it was me that was ‘racing’.. I certainly wasn’t racing, in fact, it wasn’t even my car that he saw..
I was ‘fortunate’ enough to be able to prove it was firstly, not me driving at the time ( I was in Hospital when the alleged offence occured), and secondly, I was also able to prove that it was not my vehicle being used by someone else either – (but a very similar one that also resides in my area).
I used the data log from my vehicle’s tracking system to prove that it was not actually driven or moved in the 3 days prior to, and 6 days after the alleged event.. Thankfully the Sargent at the local police station where the HWP officer was stationed agreed that I was ‘wronged’ and i didn’t need to go to court ( actually got a written apology too)
My Point.. It (the law) is too open for interpretation, the cop that pulled me over didn’t have a chip on his shoulder, nor did he hate me for owning a nice car, in fact he was a pretty decent bloke – but in the end, he made a mistake (for which he acknowledged and apologised) – and in reality, no harm was done (other than to my undies when I thought I was going to Gaol and losing my car) :p
So there ya have it – Satellite Tracking Systems for all… !!!! (ohh, that’s a can of worms for another blog right.. No one wants big brother watching them… – well I’ve got nothing to hide, so nothing to fear…)
on August 23rd, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Not too long ago, I was pulled over under the alleged new ‘hoon act’. Might I add that at this point I had not even HEARD of the ‘hoon act’ and so I was given a verbal warning, the next time my car would be impounded, and the next time, crushed.
I was coming home from my girlfriends house late at night, say about 1am, absolutely no traffic on the roads, no people, slightly damp. Turning onto the main road, I give the car a little, back steps out, nothing major, and accelerate up to the speed limit, no speeding was done.
A minute later, I look behind me. Flashing lights. The ONE CAR coming up behind me, probably 200m away, and it happens to be a cop car. My bad luck I guess.
My point is this, I know it’s stupid behaviour, I (now) know it’s illegal behaviour, but seriously, who exactly was I hurting here? If there’s no traffic, no pedestrians, it’s late, i’m alone, if I’m to crash, who am I to hurt but myself?
I was also out with a friend about 2am one night, out RIGHT in the country, in a bit of forest OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Dirt roads, RWD car, giving it a bit of drifting. A cop happens to be patrolling all the way out here at this time in the morning!?! Bad luck again, but the whole point in us coming all the way out here was so that we WOULDN’T hurt anyone, or disturb anyone. By going all the way out, we made sure that the only people we would hurt if we were to crash would be ourselves. That’s fairly responsible I would say. If we were skidding around a public street in a school zone at 3pm it would be different, but we weren’t.
My main point here is; yes, young P plater teenagers like to have fun in their cars, we like to go sideways, we like to go fast, and if the cops and the government don’t want us doing it on the streets, why don’t they bloody well make an area where we CAN do it, safely.
I live in Adelaide. International Speedway was recently closed, the only real place where a young guy COULD go and put his car down the drag strip on a weekly basis, test out any new modifications, etc. So why was it closed? Surely that’s just putting more ‘hoons’ on the road to kill people.
The fact of the matter is that, how many young P platers who actually care about their car and work their fingers to the bone to modify and pay for their cars, do you actually see crashing them? I very rarely, if ever, see a highly modified street car wrapped around a light post. Why should WE be penalised to the extent of having our pride and joy, our vehicle in which we direct every last cent of our pitiful minimum wage pays into, destroyed, when a drunk driver, 40 years old, hits a car, kills 2 people, and is let out again after 6 months? doesn’t really seem fair does it.
I very rarely see the young people driving stupidly when they’re just cruising. it’s always the drunk drivers, or more specifially, old people. the cops should pull over anyone over 50 and give them spot driving tests if you ask me, because (true fact) old people are THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY to cause an accident than their grandchildren.
My rant is getting on so i’ll get to the point. Cops, government, irritable old people; what really is the harm in doing a burnout in an abandoned car park at 3 in the morning? the only thing getting damaged is our tyres. what is the harm in using an abandoned huge car park as a skid pan to do donuts on in the wet at 3 in the morning? WHO HERE IS GETTING HURT?!?!
Why don’t you get your priorities straight and start penalising drunk drivers, and the old people who can’t see 2 feet in front of them, or over the dash board in that case, who actually cause the accidents, and leave us to our own devices. Either that, or use OUR TAX DOLLARS and make places for us to do this kinda stuff legally, and safely.
I guess there’s just no money in that….
on August 24th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Glenn:
Lets get this straight… driving your car… on a public road… you admit to ‘Getting the back end out’… you deserve whatever is coming to you. Sorry.
What if there was someone there, you know, a drunk teenager staying out… or a bike rider (I am often riding home during the early hours of the morning).
Ehh… at least your post made me laugh.
on August 28th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
I currently live in San Diego, CA where these new laws are in effect. The new laws are in fact, irresponsible legislation for these reasons:
1) Increasing the penalties for street racing will not prevent people from taking an interest in cars, it will only force those people to take their activities to more and more remote places, where in case of accidents, help will only be farther away.
2) Both drag strips in San Diego county have been shut down by the city. Imposing harsher fines for an activity without providing a legal outlet for it, is just insane.
3) By not creating a legal outlet for this popular sport, you are hampering an entire industry. You lose jobs in fabrication, bodywork, repair, tires, gasoline and all other aftermarket modifications. You also lose potential profits from taxing the recreational area as well as taxes from potential enthusiasts who would move to an area with a racetrack.
4) An opportunity is lost to educate the next generation. If someone grows up going to the track, and racing legally, they will not race on the streets, and chances are their friends won’t either.
I do not condone street racing at all, I personally have converted my car into full-time track use, with a flatbed trailer and truck to tow it with, but the nearest track of any kind to me is 4 hours away, and I have been pulled over countless times for even towing my modified car on the trailer with the accusation that I stole it.
As someone said “you don’t spank a baby with an axe!”
on November 12th, 2007 at 8:30 am
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/well-destroy-hoons-cars–and-video-it/2007/11/12/1194766541131.html
on November 12th, 2007 at 8:48 am
I always thought that they would just crush them into a cube which whilst having the same outcome – is nowhere near as spectacular..
I do like the idea of using the vehices in the crash lab.. I’d like to think that they use the crash test dummies too – that way the interior mods done can prove that having a huge monster tacho mounted on your ‘A” pillar, or that huge unrestrained subwoofer box in the back or the fact that removing your airbag wheel and replacing it with a dodgy ebay special will not do you any favours when it comes to a crash.. Perhaps they should lay the seats right back, have the dummies wear a cap backwards – just to ad to the realism…
on November 12th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Yep they are re-igniting and rethreatening it. I have thought about this a bit lately. I drive a fast car, the number of morons who try to drag me from the lights is phenominal, if one of these idiots crashes and injures themselves, even if I have done nothing wrong I suspect I would be blamed because of the car (until forensic or witness evidence can prove me right). This is a terrifying thought because ironically enough the people most likely to attempt a traffic light drag run are driving cars which NOT designed to travel at speed – commodores, falcons, excells, etc.
I’m terrified. And based on a “Random” breat tested the other day I have a funny feeling the police might be biased against sports cars, anyoine else get that feeling?
People need proper driver and attitude training before being allowed on the road!!!
on November 12th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Glenn, I’d like to buy you a beer – it seems we have the same luck!
This law is open to abuse like nothing else I can think of. There is nothing to stop a cop busting you for street racing just because he saw you drive off the lights slower than grandma in the lane beside you…and don’t think cops don’t lie.
I elected to go to court to challenge a radar detected speeding fine and the officer giving evidence told a bald-faced lie directly to the judge, then when I questioned the specifics of the situation his story changed, yet I was still found guilty.
The system is geared purely towards making the Politicians look like they are doing something so mum-and-dad voters like old ‘James’ up there re-elect them.
You will never completely stamp out street racing, it’s something that’s been going on since the dawn of time – people used to race horses on the ‘street’ before cars were invented, it’s just a logical progression.
I reckon the second Model T Ford that came of the production line would have been touched up and raced against the first!
BUILD MORE TRACKS and KEEP THEM OPEN! We WANT to go to a safe environment to thrash our cars, without having to worry about power poles or cops or drunken idiots stepping out in front of us. GIVE US SOMEWHERE TO GO!
Last time I went to Willowbank raceway it cost me $34 and I got 2 runs down the quarter in 5 hours, it’s a joke.
More tracks = less street racing/’hooning’ get it in your heads!
on January 26th, 2008 at 3:26 am
Hypocrites ..and why because generation X and Y did not invent modifying cars grandpa did back in the 1930s and you did making hot rods of the 1950s and now that you don’t do that kind of thing no more makes you decide its a good idea to ban it. so seeing you don’t listen to the latest music any more perhaps you should ban that to. No music made before 1980 to be allowed to be played on the radio. Just because your not interested in dancing better ban that wile your at it. How narrow minded is it to say if you have a modified car to be a individual is to label you as a hoon, well lets put a different perspective on this shall we, do you own a 4×4 ? did you put driving lights on it ? if you did then that illegal that’s a non factory accessory and your landcruser can now be confiscated,, how about a bull bar ? illegal, super diggers ( tires & rims ) illegal, tow bar oops illegal caught 3 times driving that 4×4 of yours its going to be confiscated and sold to raise revenue for the government, and why because YOU ARE A HOON, you are driving a modified car, What’s that you don’t go around drag racing or doing burnouts well nether do i so why am i a hoon ?. Now i hear you saying oww that’s just rubbish they would never do something like that well guess what ? The can and they already have i have known heaps of people that drive dead stock standard cars that have never even had a parking ticket before in their life that have 3 kids and a job and have been driving to work at 7am to be booked for having thous little fog lights under the bumper bar and now become of these new laws the cars can be locked up, who do you think is going to be next on the chopping block when all the “hoon cars” have been crushed or sold and de-modified ? I think its fantastic that if you spend heaps of money making your car one of a kind that you are now going to lose your car when you have done nothing but drive to work of a morning. Let me ask you, when you drive past a car park full of hotted up cars and the youth of today standing around chatting and looking under the bonnets of the car parked beside them do you say to your self ” look at all thous bloody hoons some one should do something about them” ? yes indeed they should, they should make car mod-ing illegal hey so all thous young people instead of spending 1000s of hr working on their car can spend 1000s of hrs at the pub or club and get a new hobby like smoking the latest drug like ICE or Crack or shooting heroin or something constructive like that so then you can have your house broken into and all you stuff stolen, well come on sitting around doing drugs all night is much better then being in the garage spry painting or installing a stereo ? I would like to know how many car accidents are from modified cars compared to old age drivers or compared to normal cars. id also like to know why ever time i see a cop car it is never doing the speed limed or why i saw a highway patrol officer talking on his mobile phone whilst driving the other day marked police car. I would also like to know why i heard on my mats scanner wile watching tv the other week a police officer say that he had his car off the clock at over 240kph to catch up to some one doing 130kph on the highway and last of all id like to know what gives you the right to class me as a HOON and a danger to the public because i drive a modified car and have got every point left on my licence. I would be proud of my son for building a one of a kind car, spending his money on something like that and not pissing it up against the wall or taking drugs,,, just face it this is revenue raising and publicity stunt at its finest. our charming media getting on the band wagon and dramatising every thing to make more money. custom cars unsafe OMG what a joke i will pit my 25yr old modified car against your bran new car any day of the week in the form of handling, braking and reliability, i have never been booked for doing burnouts or drag racing so why am i a hoon ? if my car was stock standard it would have been written off many times by now form all the silly old idiots that don’t know how to give way or use roundabouts if i didn’t have spots brakes and spots suspension then you would be paying for increased insurance costs.. it wasn’t a hoon that wrote off my last car 4 years ago by pulling out in front of me, nope it wasn’t,, it was a 82yr old bloke on his way to the dog track that was booked for neg driving and i didn’t see that in the news,, and why ? because its not sensational enough. if it happened to be some one in a hotted up car then that would have been national news, “Hoons strike again when will it end” . I very much doubt if these comments will even be published but some of you need to realize we are not all sheep some of us like to be different and not all have the same looking cars as a million other people do, some of us modified car drives have kids and jobs and don’t drink don’t take drugs, don’t drag race and don’t kill people on the weekends and some of us think that YOU are hypocrites for spending half your life doing what you have now banned us from doing, so next time you think about getting a winch for your 4×4 or bad mouth someone for having a done up car you might just think about some of the things you have done over the years. I believe in karma and in case you don’t know what that is it is when you are in hospital dyeing of ass cancer and asking god what you ever did to deserve it, you might think about how you have stoped some one from doing something they love because it doesn’t interest you, Because you think that having a trunk full of giant speakers makes the person having them a idiot really makes YOU your self a idiot because you don’t understand not the other way around, Hopefully you will realize that if the government keeps making laws for the sake of making laws or to make it look like their earning their massive pay checks and new laws everyday get made because the media decide to flog a dead horse because it sells then one day the people will say we have had enough and their will be civil upheaval or worse still some one might take away something that you enjoy doing heaven forbid.
on May 5th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
This is another law coming into being due to all you gutless idiots who believe that just because a law exists it can never be opposed, changed or disobeyed. Usually strongly defended by the incompetent twats that have trouble driving at a constant speed, indicating, moving to the left lane after taking 3km to overtake another car, concentrating on the road, not fiddling with the radio, staying off the mobile, parking without 5 goes and several minutes….the list continues. All of these basic fundamentals, most with law attached are ignored while speeding, wheelspin or accelerating hard off the lights are the root of all evil and yet you are more likely to cause an accident. All experienced, competent drivers know this. Having expended a significant degree of effort studying the effects of incompetent drivers on traffic flow, aggression of other drivers and near miss incidents I see incompetents as a greater threat on the roads. A side effect of being retired at 40 due to nerve damage in my lower back, unable to work reliably but being highly educated and having spent time in highly skilled fields of operation I can follow my interests. I despise those who refuse to improve their driving skills beyond barely competent
and then inflict their mindless and holier than thou attitude of defending a law and enforcement regime that is, in effect causing more deaths than if they had never decided to enforce speed limits with cash machines.
Just how many people, especially those not involved in the hooning have died from what is being called “hoon” behaviour? No-one has produced results that can be believed. With “speeding” it has been proven that less than 2% of accidents occur over the posted limit. We know that all speed detection devices are at high risk of false positives yet very few people have the courage to challenge them in areas of zero serious accident occurrence and artificially low limits. It seems the hoon law has been introduced on socially acceptable behaviour grounds as safety has very little to do with it. Illegal drags, drifting and burnouts are usually in deserted industrial areas and as a result of limited facilities in the area. Auto enthusiasts are poorly represented for equitable facilities.
I used to referee Rugby Union, as well as play Union, League and a number of other sports. The number of injuries that occur causing unnecessary costs to business and the medical system is outrageous and yet we hear of the cost of traffic accidents to family, business and medical endlessly. If police and paramedics struggle to deal with the situations then they can stop doing it, they aren’t being forced.
It is time the facilities were provided to allow an outlet for motoring enthusiasts. Some cordoned off areas in industrial estates for skill training and the odd smokey. Use at own risk laws like playing fields and skate parks. Cameras to record damage to the facility. Regular attendance by the coppers to pass on their very limited skills and knowledge. I’ve raced some of their (supposed) best in motorkhanas and speed events and they are not very skilled at all, coming second last with only a mechanical withdrawal behind them. Any contact other than another vaguely justified modification fine is better than what my copper mates call jury f**kers turning the public off the cops.
A few more facilities like Mount Cotton driver training area for higher speed skills training are necessary. If you can’t correct a slide, or hold one to avoid an unsafe situation then you shouldn’t have a license. Increased speed limits on freeways like between Brisbane and GC, at least 140kmh with rigorous patrolling to ensure morons move over after passing, and use indicators and proper spacing. If drivers can’t do this then punish them. If they get enough points for failing to employ basic skills or continually block traffic then take their cars and crush them. Driving slow in a modern car is mind numbing and causes accidents. Cars are safer than ever yet we are constantly forced to go slower to accommodate the incompetent.
It’s time to take the roads back. Driving is fun, and also dangerous, not some mundane chore to be tolerated by morons that treat every drive as another opportunity to save fuel. Lets reward incompetence and discourteous driving by taking and crushing their cars and see how loud they scream!
on June 27th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Geoff and Chris have hit a bulls eye. Nothing we can do Australia is now like Mexico, we all sit in the fast lane and don’t want to move over as we own the road. Drivers here are appalling. I have driven in Europe and Asia. I have to say people pick on drivers in Thailand, but they are miles ahead of us. left lane 100km for trucks speed limited, middle 120 and right just for overtaking, 60 million people on the road and highway is not congested. Trucks should never be allowed in the fast lane as up the hill they can not maintain the speed hence back up traffic. But we have some brainless idiots designing our rules who have obviously never steeped outside the country.