Adelaide 'hoon laws' questioned

[prydey]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/h...-1226081669456

Have hoon-car laws misfired

Cars impounded by police are generally not the high-performance vehicles associated with hooning.

THE sale of 68 cars under anti-hoon laws has raised an average of just $564 a vehicle.

Court Administration Authority figures obtained by The Advertiser reveal the sale of the 68 forfeited cars under the 2007 Clamping, Impounding and Forfeiture Act has raised a total of $38,389.80 after the agent's commission for handling the sale is deducted.

The laws were introduced to target high-performing, hotted-up vehicles and tackle hoons and repeat dangerous drivers.

Lawyer Paul Simionato from D'angelo Kavanagh - who has represented a number of drivers charged with hoon offences - said the relatively small amount raised serious questions about whether the correct types of cars were being targeted.

"It's just ludicrous," Mr Simionato said.

"This was meant to get high-performing vehicles, but what is it achieving?

"When one looks at the maths, you get $560-odd each for tying up all the resources of the state. The economics are not good."

Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire said it showed that rather than confiscating and selling cars, the government should be focusing on targeting hoon driver's licences.

"The Rann Government made great fanfare about these laws targeting drivers' "prize possessions" but it seems hoon driving is only occurring in bombs that, if sold or crushed, doesn't worry the hoon driver," Mr Brokenshire said.

"The better deterrent is to target hoon drivers' licences rather than crushing their car. The Advertiser understands the forfeiture and sale of expensively modified cars has been complicated as many are partly "owned" by finance companies who have provided loans to their owners.

But Attorney-General John Rau yesterday hit back, saying the Government didn't "seize, crush or sell hoons' cars to make money."

"The Government's only concern is to get dangerous drivers and their vehicles off the road," Mr Rau said.

"Hoons kill and injure people, with incalculable consequences of pain, suffering and loss. In light of this human cost, it is ridiculous to suggest that the return per hoon vehicle is too small," he said.

to me, targeting high performance cars is discrimination. what this shows is that the majority of people that are caught 'hooning' aren't the ones the big knobs thought they were. the ones with the high performance cars are the ones that actually care about them and don't drive like tossers (there's always a few that do).

now that they aren't catching these high performance cars, they think the laws aren't working. talk about discriminatory.

it shows that what many have thought is actually correct. drive your modified/high performance car on the street, and you will be targetted even if you drive like miss daisy.

[Jim Goose]

I think who ever wrote the article just made it sound like its supposed to target a particular group... that isnt the intent of the law.

No where does the law say only high powered cars etc can be targetted...

[ray38l]

It shows that the cars that the cops target aren't hoons cars. Now to get your average highway patrol cop to understand that and they might stop targeting highly modified cars. 1 tyre on a modified car would be worth more then those confiscated cars.

[SSD-85]

I swear, if the geniuses that thought of this type of legislation ever grew a brain, they would die from intelligence-induced shock.....

[pottery beige]

catching a lot out that they can drag crap up from up to 10 years ago to make it the three offences to enact this law and take your wheels.....

[sudszy]

All we have in that article is the opinion of a lawyer who thought the idea of the hoon law was to raise money through vehicle sales?
The law wasnt to get high performance vehicles, it was to get the vehicles that hoons were using......simple as that.

Not knowing the vehicles sold, Id anticipate that these vehicles were worth much more to the hoons that lost them than $564, probably having sunk heaps of money into the cars on hoon features that didnt increase their value one iota.

Though, I understand the concept....as well as having their ride crushed, effective penalties should also include a large fine $5000+ and a break from driving.

[Booma]

I don't think this shows that the law is misguided, I think it shows that the hype and stereotypes associated with 'Hoon Driving' are misguided

[prydey]

The laws were introduced to target high-performing, hotted-up vehicles

"This was meant to get high-performing vehicles, but what is it achieving?

these are the bits i was talking about. possibly just a poor choice of words but there's also the chance that this is how many interpretted the laws. targetting modified cars regardless of whether they are 'hooning' or not. if you get pulled over for a breatho, and you have a competely legal modified high performance car, i garauntee they'll give it more of a going over than if you were in your mums car. sure, some of us drive cars that draw attention to ourselves, but that doesn't automatically mean we are 'hoons'.

i don't really care much for the laws. i just don't agree with targetting certain groups.

[blueoval]

Discrimination at its finest. Disgusted at this

[burnz]

"The Government's only concern is to get dangerous drivers and their vehicles off the road," Mr Rau said.

"Hoons kill and injure people, with incalculable consequences of pain, suffering and loss. In light of this human cost, it is ridiculous to suggest that the return per hoon vehicle is too small," he said.

this statement is extremely misleading.

[BHDOGS]

bunch a crap