Hoon driving on the rise - Sunday Mail 2 August 09

The results are in.

The hoon driving surveys I posted to electors in Sturt have been flooding back in. Overwhelmingly concerned residents are telling me that hoon driving is on the increase in their streets. Despite the state government’s tough talk, the problem is getting worse.

In response to the question: “What do you believe the State Government should be doing to combat or prevent hoon driving?” Sandra of Highbury wrote one very concerning comment: “Listen to us. I phoned the police regarding cars on Lower North East Road on weekends. I was told there weren’t enough resources.”

Words are cheap. It is easy for a politician such as the Premier or one of his revolving Road Safety Ministers to use tough catch-phrases that get a good headline. What is harder is providing the resources to ensure that there are enough police available to catch the criminals – and the buck stops with Mike Rann.

Many respondents agreed that when it comes to hoon driving hotspots the police seem to be the last to know. The trick remains catching the hoons in the first place.

Crushing cars and other punitive measures were all well and good, but unless the police have the time and resources available to them to catch hoon drivers in the act, they will never slow down the hoons.
Catching the hoon drivers requires local knowledge such as the information provided by respondents to my survey identifying hot spots. Then we need to ensure these areas are appropriately policed and fitted with speed cameras.

Like the Sunday Mail editorial team, I support the sometimes maligned “fixed speed cameras” that are having something of a trial run at the moment in SA. I think they will help catch or at least deter these criminals. As they don’t require constant human surveillance, they are cheaper to run and the interstate and overseas experience is positive. But like “crushing cars”, they are only part of a wider solution that must include better resources for police.

And soon enough the hoons will learn where the fixed cameras are, and they will find alternate routes for their dangerous behaviour, and we will be back where we started.

To assist in compiling the sort of local intelligence that is needed I propose the State Government establish a dedicated hoon driving hotline and website.

If hoons are racing down your street, you should be able to call this line and have your concern taken seriously – encouraged even.

A website with a map of Adelaide would allow visitors to highlight a street where they have heard or witnessed hoon or dangerous driving. A simple online form requiring a legitimate email and home address would establish the reliability of the information. This information along with existing data can be compiled giving police the best, and most up-to-date possible intelligence as to when and where hoon driving is occurring.

And if we’re going to crush hoons’ cars, we should make more use of this too. The Government could produce youtube video clips, displayed prominently on this website, of seized cars being crushed. Watching these thugs’ pride and joy being reduced to the size of a coffee table might demonstrate just how serious we are about tackling this issue and what some of the consequences of being caught will mean.

Very few respondents to the survey considered that the crushing of hoon cars was the be all and end all solution. It needed to be coupled with a range of support measures including strong support for driver education, including shock driving workshops.

Interestingly there were also some very passionate supporters for the need to build an off street racing track. The thinking is that while we might be able slow down hoons on public roads, young people are still exposed to legitimate forms of motor racing and attend events like the Clipsal 500.

This sends mixed messages about what is legitimate driving behaviour, and what is an illegal and dangerous activity. There is no outlet for South Australians to race themselves so respondents considered building a track would provide a clear delineation between legal off street racing and illegal hoon driving on public roads. Given that there are private companies willing to spend the money to set up such race tracks, and it wouldn’t cost the tax-payer a cent, I would fully support this endeavour as part of the solution. It’s just up to the State Government to give them the green light!

Hoon driving is not new, but it is getting worse. We need a serious, and multi-layered approach, to tackle it. But one thing is clear – rhetoric by itself will never get the results we need.

List of the most frequently mentioned hoon driving hot spots in my electorate.

Most frequent hotspots

• Lower North East Rd
• Magill Rd
• St Bernard's Rd
• Newton Rd
• Montacute Rd
• Kensington Rd
• The Parade
• Gorge Rd
• Stradbroke Rd
• OG Rd
• Penfold Rd
• Grand Junction Rd
• Greenhill Rd
• Glynburn Rd