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 Tassie 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.

[sav man]

I know Damo (djrift) got done by the hoon law's....but i'll let him talk about that.

As far as I see in Tassie, these laws are enforced pretty fairly. Mainly targating bogans in commos. I know cops never look twice at me when i'm driving the gt-r round. Even in the stickered up Targa car i've never been bothered.

I'll be interested to see if there is any bad storys from down here.

[bryce19]

I know Damo (djrift) got done by the hoon law's....but i'll let him talk about that.

As far as I see in Tassie, these laws are enforced pretty fairly. Mainly targating bogans in commos. I know cops never look twice at me when i'm driving the gt-r round. Even in the stickered up Targa car i've never been bothered.

I'll be interested to see if there is any bad storys from down here.

the laws are pretty average but the police down here dont carry on much and go handing out defect stickers left right and center,and we also get the luxuary of driving what ever car we want on our p's,sure the hoon laws are crap but it could be worse we could be driving lancers because the cops wont let us have a turbo,i myself have been pulled over for apparently hooning when some kind person got my number plate and said i was goin fast,when explained to the officer that it was rubbish and that it could of been any person who didnt like me just trying to cause trouble he totally agreed and let me go

[Funz]

in the first 12 months of owning kermit i got pulled up approx 30 times for supposed RBT. I know my car stands out like dogs nuts and i expected to recieve a lot of attention have only been done once for speeding and i copped to it since i was guilty, other than that, cops havent really bothered me for last 9 months as they kind figured they cant get me for anything silly as i dont do anything silly

[floody]

There is a problem with the law? What part do we need to change? Never had an issue.

Frankly MLcrisis that post is a massive load of old tosh. And all you will get is 'I drive a ful sik import and I'm targetted by da pigzzzz!!!!" along with "I was doin nuffin just a little chirp/just razzing the otha guy to da speed limit/was doin nuffin, just cruisin wif me cuz/coppas defect me all the time for nuffin/they see a young bloke in an import and they're jealous/why don't they arrest some murderers or something" and other BS, because the whiners are the ones who deserve it generally.

Edited February 1, 2009 by floody

[MLCrisis]

Frankly MLcrisis that post is a massive load of old tosh. And all you will get is 'I drive a ful sik import and I'm targetted by da pigzzzz!!!!" along with "I was doin nuffin just a little chirp/just razzing the otha guy to da speed limit/was doin nuffin, just cruisin wif me cuz/coppas defect me all the time for nuffin/they see a young bloke in an import and they're jealous/why don't they arrest some murderers or something" and other BS, because the whiners are the ones who deserve it generally.

Firstly, my apologies for not checking up on this thread for a while!! My thanks to Floody for an erudite and illuminating contribution to this important debate. I realise that the laws are different from state to state and that Tassie may not have the same issues - yet. The point is that the various versions of these laws around Australia all share the same key characteristic - that they are fundamentally unjust and unsound and represent an attack on civil liberties. I have no doubt that many young drivers, whatever their ride, are irresponsible and need to be brought to book in some way. However, the standard laws already on the statute, for dangerous driving, reckless driving, etc. present sufficient means for that, without the imposition of laws that allow unfettered discretion to the boys in blue.

So, Floody, if you cannot raise your gaze above the tosh that you have contributed here, then that is a shame. The argument is clearly beyond you.

I would add that maintaining the argument in each state's thread is also beyond me and the time that I have available. So I will leave this one to those of you in Tassie who care to think about the matter. Perhaps there are some amongst you who will appreciate the greater issue, see it as something worth fighting for and take that fight on in your own way.

To Floody and the rest like him, enjoy yourself in your own little world, while the adults deal with the things that matter.

Cheers.

[XRATED]

Finally... an educated approach.

As I understand them, the "hooning laws" completly bypass the chain of evidance or proof required for conviction.... Not to mention power to confiscate private property by "opinion"... Not even drugs lords in Miami get it that bad... at least the courts have to find the drug son of rajab "guilty" and the IRA has to collect back "taxes" before the government re-posess his yacht, house, 20 cars and his missus boob job. Hell the civil court dosn't even take his cars, it the fkn tax department!!!

It's like having the police knock on your door and charge you with murder, because you look like the guy. Or your grumpy old neighbour handing you a speeding ticket, whenever he feels like it (because your driving a -japanese- car.... god damn japs). or if a police officer is having a bad day, then decides he dosn't like you- pooff! there goes your pride and joy...

Hell hooning laws are very similar to new homeland security laws in america... the merkin government can walk into your home declare you as a potential threat to national securtiy (terrorist) and do what ever they like. no rights, no requirment for proof... just knock knock bang!

If you follow this lodgic of evidence, why do speed cameras or red light cameras need calibrating... hell why do we need them at all? lets just stick all the sad, lonley people (who obviously have nothing better to do- on top of poles) at each red light and on the side of the highways??? - If they think your speeding then it must be so -

What would you do if the police confiscated your big screen TV because your neighbour down the road said you were traveling to fast on it. Same thing... it's not the car's fault you were speeding. I bet they dont impound to many saab 220i's or volvo 240's??? and I've done more than the legal limmit in a volvo 240... was I still "hooning"???

And what the hell is hooning anyway? Apparently I'm a hoon (who hasn't been caught, actually never had a speeding ticket or trafic infringment ever) and I don't even know. Am I a hoon in a brand new mercedes or just in a highly modified dddaaaa skyline?

I'm all for punishment that fits the crime... not punishment for all and tarnish with the same brush.... then if you escape it good for you. If I get pinned for speeding then I'll cop it. If I take off from the lights and give a little squeek (because of my tripple plate clutch) the accelerate in a controlled manner to the speed limmit- then no way!

I can tell you now, no one will take MY car and crush/sell it... No one!

This is not a rant, I just want people to start thinking about it as a law that gives a controlling body toooo much power. I love living in tassie, I love not having to worry so much about bs defects etc... I hope it stay's that way.

The government needs to clearly define hooning and it's application. They need to have a good hard look at civil rights and the power for individual police to confiscate legal private property.

Cheers

Justin