NT hoons beware

The Government will this week introduce a Bill to Parliament proposing amendments to the Traffic Act to address anti social driver behaviour.

Transport Minister, Kon Vatskalis, said the changes were needed to allow police to adequately deal with illegal driving, commonly referred to as hooning.

"Our suburban streets and highways are for driving, not burnouts and illegal street racing," he said.

"The proposed amendments to the Traffic Act are a direct response to community concern over illegal and dangerous motoring activities, and will introduce tough new measures eventually leading to the impounding or forfeiture of vehicles for repeat offenders."

Mr Vatskalis said the proposed amendment include:

First offence - issue of infringement notice for prescribed hooning behaviour;
Second offence - Police can apply to courts to make order to impound vehicle for 48 hours;
Third offence - Police can apply to courts to make order to impound vehicle for period up to three months;
Fourth offence - Police can apply to courts to make order to have vehicle forfeited to the Territory.
"We need to send a message to drivers - especially our youth - that reckless stunts will not be tolerated on our roads," said Mr Vatskalis.

"The Government and Territory Police appreciates there is a strong young car culture in the community, which is why Police launched the new "Beat the Heat" initiative at Hidden Valley last week, encouraging drivers to take on a drag car in a controlled track environment."

Mr Vatskalis said the amendments will be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday.

good.. i hope it go's through... bloddy hoons

Agreed

Bloody hoons . You dont only indangering yourself but others on the bloody roads :evil:

yeah... what he said.

It's not hoons that cause all accidents, but the less hoons the better cause most of them can’t drive.

Most accidents are alcohol related about 90% & that’s fact, but they cant get tough on alcohol cause it generates revenue for the Government.

Racing at the track is a good idea but remember that you most likely need to pay the insurance before you can race. When I was there in the early days track entrance & insurance was around $80 for members & you would need to bring your own helmet plus driving suit for safety then you must sit a CAM driving training safety course if you haven’t done one yet. I don’t know these days it could be high as "50 just to race not to mention tire wear, engine ware & fuel or courses you may need to attend. The best thing my instructor taught me is that if you want to go harder, faster & race no mater what category it’s is, it’s still going to cost you lots of money at the end of the day. I just couldn’t afford "400 on new tries every 3 months :(

Good idea would be giving discounts for these young drivers to attend the Advance Driving Course. Because most of them pass there P’s then hit the road speeding without any high speed experience then loss control panic & crash. They have no idea what there cars are capable of doing or not doing & it’s limitations. I think better driver education saves lives & sticking to the recommend speed limits on public roads.

A few points.

Firstly, the NT already has pretty much the toughest liquor laws in the country. Trying to make it even harder to get will encourage the sort of bootlegging we are already seeing with cigarettes.

Secondly, studies have shown that drivers who take "advanced driving courses" wind up having more, not less, accidents. The theory is that they become overconfident.

Quote from starscream:
Most accidents are alcohol related about 90% & that’s fact.

StarScream I don't know where you pulled that figure from but I can assure you it is wrong.

I know my job and I know what I am talking about.

yeah... what lataf said.

trojan.... your full of insight in this forum, i mean seriously... we have nothing left to say after your posts! :P :P hehehe.

yeah anywho i think its a great idea.... i live in a frequently used road and we have people screaming up and down it all the time.... a hoon is a hoon wether the car is all flashy or not., a hoon is an idiot driver. someone who drives like a maniac, always speeds and is basically just a dumbass... thats my definition anywho... i hope this law passes and that its actually enforced.

why thank you lilu.

i mean, yeah, what SHE said. *folds arms*

Earlier this week - where I live: Leanyer. Children playing across the road. Two Ricer cars tear down my suburban road, at speeds of at least 80kmh. Not good. Even if I was backing out of the driveway I wouldn't have been able to avoid that. Now this is a rare thing indeed for where I live but often enough.

I reckon give them tours of crash sites... scare some reality into the wankers...

Personally, If ur gonna hoon, piss off away fromt he public roads and go down the track where the only one ur endangering is urself

Quote from Wrathlon:
Personally, If ur gonna hoon, piss off away fromt he public roads and go down the track where the only one ur endangering is urself
well said, in NSW the cops dont do enough, I hope they take after NT if it goes thru

Quote:
"The Government and Territory Police appreciates there is a strong young car culture in the community, which is why Police launched the new "Beat the Heat" initiative at Hidden Valley last week, encouraging drivers to take on a drag car in a controlled track environment."

I may be stupid, but Beat the Heat inititiative is simply giving a name to the Hidden Valley Street Meets that are held once every month.
I'm glad that the police and government are encouraging safe behavior, and I welcome it with open arms, but a lot more is going to need to be done.

I feel, and I may be making some formal stance on this, that the NT Government and Police view hooning in the same way that we used to look on Skateboarding. Now don't misunderstand me here. Clearly they're completely different. For starters, the chances of killing someone in a car is inceased so many times over I wouldn't even care to guess. So lets not get into the details.

What I'd like to propose is a small area, nothing too flash but a large concrete area where people can gather in their cars, away from the public, and out of harms way where they can do their stupid stuff. Not completely wreckless stuff, and certainly not big enough to get any sort of speed in it, but things like Burnouts where they can be carried out in a semi-controlled environment, where there' no risk of being fined or effected by police.

Basically it comes down to this. Hoons will always be there. It's something we'll have to live with. I may have done it once or twice myself, though certainly not in a public or built up area.

And please, lets NOT make the assumption that some have already done here... That a ricer is immediately a hoon.

Everybody... EVERYBODY has the potential to be a hoon, and from personal experience, the ricers make a lot of noise, but generally behave fairly well comparitive to the people who do drive cars that are somewhat fast.

I may sounds strange saying this though. I agree with this legislation to a point... TO A POINT. But I must say that I'm more impressed with the Darwin form, as now the courts will decide on the offence, not the police. And I'm not trying to speak ill of Lataf of Sponge. These guys are awesome police officers and outstanding citizens, but it's more to protect the people who are genuinely doing the right thing getting effected for other peoples stupidity.

I for one don't want to have my car impounded simply because I was sitting at the traffic lights next to a few cars that were planning to race... Because I sure as hell wouldn't.

IF you're out there though, and really wanting to give racing a real shot. Try the Hidden valley lap sprint days. They're on the second last weekend of the month and cost 65 which covers you for track insurance and entry.

hey, i was gonna say that.

.... i cant be a hoon, i dont drive and am so paranoid that if i were to drive i would be a granny driver....
so not everyone could be a hooner :P

still have to be caught!

Quote from Lilu:
.... i cant be a hoon, i dont drive and am so paranoid that if i were to drive i would be a granny driver....
so not everyone could be a hooner :P

I'm with Lilu here. While I have an interest in fast vehicles, I'm absolutely paranoid about driving on the roads. I'm afraid I'd be one of those pricks who drives 10km below the speed limit and doesn't go through red lights even when there's nobody there. Yes, go me!

its movies like the fat and the fourious that promote this behaviour tho

here is a mini version of it
http://illstab.com/sz_images/238.gif

2mb gif - FFS KNIGHT

I dont think Vic has anything like what is being discussed here.

I am a hoon (to a point) where I will leave town on my motorbike and go out bush and be an idiot, but I draw the line being a dickhead around residential areas, and especially near other drivers. I might have a deathwish :D but does not mean somebody else has one too.

victoria has spoken...

Meh hooning aint a big problem up here.

wtf would Vatskalis know anyway.

I didn't think hooning was a huge problem up here either

it's definately a problem, three times in the last week i've been forced to brake hard, and virtually stop, because a 'hoon' has been unable to keep his car in his lane whilst doing 120 around that bend near goyder road. thats just one example i know, but the general attitude of people on the roads around 4-5am is that they own the road, and can do what they want.

Well the laws are being passed. You are a Hoon, Dick or just cant drive on our NT roads then I will finallly have the power to throw the book and tow truck at you.

Try me, be the first, go on I dare yah in your sik evo........

We live in the NT are now subject to the outside world problems.

Try and stage and event as Hitokiri Kensuke suggest and you would be broke after the lawyers finsished with you.

The plain facts are:

Behave on NT roads and I waive and smile at you and your kids.

Race, burnout, loud thumping music, being a anti normal Territorian and i will have great pleasure in seizing your car from you.

This will apply to all ppl I stop on the roads regardless of if I know you from DGA, GU, OCtA4, other lans etc.

I have no tollerance for the dicks on the roads, RICE burners incl. Please do not let me have to enforce this when I am working.

Be nice or loose your car/ or your mummas car.

You have been warned.

LOL Knight nice lil gif

please don't throw a tow truck at me... i can't catch.. and it'd hate to see the end result.

I just want to see lataf pick up a tow truck :D thats a feat in itself :D hehehe

hey lataf... just for me.. can you carry a toy tow truck.. then first person you throw it at.. can you literally throw the toy truck at them.. then get out your digital camera and yell 'SMILE!'

as life has taught me many times, dont mess with the police :)

lataf, please come and park on mitchell street so i can watch, pleaseeeeeee. free food for you and your associates also ;)

Quote:
Try and stage and event as Hitokiri Kensuke suggest and you would be broke after the lawyers finsished with you.

Maybe I should re-word what I ment by my comment on having an area for such activity...

What I would like to see is a controlled environment (preferably by the police) where people can do very small things such as burnouts legally. i think it'd be 'nice' to think that we can all live happily, and with any luck, such an environment would lead to less stupidity on the roads.

Just to cover myself here though... Of course there'll always be dickheads, and I'm not even going to pretend to cover for them.

This is one idea, one possibility that may, just 'may' be worth trialing in the NT. Preferably, I'd like to see more government sponsored events at Hidden Valley, preferably two drag Friday nights would be nice, as any more would be overkill.

Unfortunately, what I believe Lataf is referring to is the cost of insurance and public liability. The costs of hosting such a place would probably force it to be privately owned, and sponsored (if at all possible).

---

Just on another note... I would just reiterate that ANYBODY who drives is a potential hoon. Relax, calm down and drive steady and carefully. We don't need anymore dickheads out there.
Most importantly just because the dickhead infront who just cut you off is being a retard, isn't an excuse for you to be.

Yeah bloody V8 drivers, lets get them off the road, hoons dammit, hoons them allllll are i say..... :|

Quote from Whisper:
[quote:951db01f57="Lilu"].... i cant be a hoon, i dont drive and am so paranoid that if i were to drive i would be a granny driver....
so not everyone could be a hooner :P

I'm with Lilu here. While I have an interest in fast vehicles, I'm absolutely paranoid about driving on the roads. I'm afraid I'd be one of those pricks who drives 10km below the speed limit and doesn't go through red lights even when there's nobody there. Yes, go me![/quote:951db01f57]

You can't be afraid of driving on the roads.. you'll end up on Australia's Worst Driver.

I've been driving for over 4 years and in that time i've had 2 accidents (one was not my fault.. the other is disputable)

one i was hit from behind whilst stationairy in a traffic jam... a lady took her eyes off the road for a second, then ploughed into me.

the other, i _just_ crossed a solid white line exiting a roundabout and was t-boned by someone speeding. fortunately, i knew them so the cops werent involved and we paid for our own damages.

I admit i've probably done some stupid things in those 4 years (mostly when i started driving) but friends being injured in a car accident changed my perspectives.. and i'd never consider anything i did to be dangerous to anyone but myself.

Most of my hair raising stories come from 4WDing. Like jumping my poor little car 2m off the ground. :( or driving on 2 wheels.. :) wont be doing that again.

Heres what they did in Perth to solve the Hooning problem, with much success I may add:

Well that certainly sounds like an excellent idea. Cheers Wrathlon. This is the sort of thing I'm talking about.

hehe, my company built the Kwinana freeway, yay..

anywho. this really should be done in Darwin... heaps of space at Hidden Valley..

they are probably worried about insurance issues, etc.

would be interesting to see what they have done in WA with regards to insurance, etc.

That's awesome Wrathlon, we have something like that in Sydney.. call the streets around the olympic stadium hehe. Seriously though, that'd rock, we should make one here too

Quote from Ebola Virus:
Yeah bloody V8 drivers, lets get them off the road, hoons dammit, hoons them allllll are i say..... :|

LOL!!!

My names Craig and i Cant talk!

Going to see some big egos inflated here with new laws.

You can try and work against people, or try and work with them to find solutions.

Wrathlon has posted us an excellent example of the latter. Vatskalis has shown us an excellent example of the former.

I'm inclined to suggest a double-pronged approach. Make it easier to take the racing off the street and make it cost you more if you persist in doing it on the street.

I agree, I'd definately curb my hooning ways if I knew I could have one night a week where everyone with a love for this sort of stuff could get together and do their thing without the problem of fines/crashes (to an extent)/etc. Safer environment, more organized so more people there, youd make more then a few friends from it id imagine, and I also reckon itd make for a better relationship with the cops. And based on what Perth did, at "00000 for 6 months, $200000 would cover the year which, in reality, is very cheap. It has also proven to be more effective than other campaigns run to stop hooning.

Otherwise I have to go Perth to join in :x

If you support what the NT police are trying to achieve. This meaning, the street meets. Why don’t you make it noticed? Write a letter to the Supt stating your support so he can propose something to Government to receive funding to make our lives a little more fun by organizing circuit meets and construction of a drift pan. It would be beneficial to our community.

Quote from x5-469:
If you support what the NT police are trying to achieve. This meaning, the street meets. Why don’t you make it noticed? Write a letter to the Supt stating your support so he can propose something to Government to receive funding to make our lives a little more fun by organizing circuit meets and construction of a drift pan. It would be beneficial to our community.

Totally agree, to have a drift pan and circuit contructed for these purposes would surely be a great idea.
As mentioned earlier the outlook on hoons has came to the way we previously had an outlook on skating/skatboarding. As a result the government provided the skate parks and it has really drawn the people to those areas.

As said above the government needs to feel our support, the police carnt really do anything unless us public backs them to do it.

I for one would enjoy going down to the track to either maby do myself or watch friends or other people i know take on such challenges, away from the streets. This way people can really push there cars hard not worrying about police/people and other domestic traffic. This way everyone stays safe.

The problem of hooning will always be there and must be addressed professionally by working with it not against it.

*opens word* Writes "Dear Superintendent..."

Another thing too, I'll post the article if I can find it, but in one of my street machine mags, it states that all CAMS licenced tracks are covered for insurance by CAMS for drift events, burnout events, etc.

And another good thing with a supervised event is that there is no alcohol being consumed prior to races...

Want to see me throw a tow truck at yah no probs, I have been carrying sponge at work for 7 months now, arms like Arnie.....

:twisted:

The problem with a CAMS affiliation is the cost of insuring yourself for one day worth of racing.

It's around the $70 mark, and is a little out of the league of most people.

On the note of making it heard. I've done many things, and unfortunately they all blew up in my face.

One was a centre page article on my car a few months back, which some of you remember. It was intended to promote club days and track meets as well as drag meets. Unfortunately it made me look like a complete ass, as if I new nothing of what I was referring to.

I've also written two letters to Mr Vatzkalis (sp?) both of which I believe have been ignored.

I'm at the point where I'm going to push personally into getting my voice and the voice of others heard.
The problem with the people who want this thing is that a lot don't say shit. They're slack, and talk big, but don't offer to help out.

Well consider this my official willingness to help out, I haven't done much personally cause I figure I'm only one person, but I'll definately help.