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Canberra Today 19°/21° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Police catch out offending hoons on social media

Hooning… cars speeding, cars racing, cars mounting footpaths and the noise and danger. Photo: Paul Costigan

HOONS that have been warned are paying the price for being caught committing the illegal act on Canberra’s streets.

At the launch of a dangerous driving month-long safety campaign earlier in the week, ACT road police superintendent Donna Hofmeier warned infringement notices would be issued to drivers whose hooning and burnout activities had been publicised on social media.

Facebook and Instagram are two of the platforms that the trend of deliberately driving a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner in order to provoke a reaction from onlookers has become more popular in recent years.

Police have since issued 12 traffic infringement notices to six drivers from both the ACT and NSW for the following offences committed in the territory.

Eight of the charges involved drivers conducting street burnouts, fined $675 and the loss of three demerit points each for an improper use of a motor vehicle under the road transport safety and traffic management act.

Two charges involved driving an unregistered motor vehicle that also was unaccompanied with a $675 fine.

Another two charges that were over use of an uninsured motor vehicle resulted in a hefty $903 fine.

Police patrolling Canberra’s roads are also targeting speeding as part of dangerous driving focus.

Police detected a white Mitsubishi Magna overtaking other vehicles on Wednesday around 9.50pm, while travelling southbound on Majura Parkway at 146km/h in the 100km/h zone.

The 44-year-old driver, from Charnwood, has been issued a traffic infringement notices for exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h.

He will be forced to pay a $1841 fine and accrue six demerit points.

The man, who already had eight points on his licence, has his licence for three months.

Police were disappointed after noticing the driver had a seven-year-old child in the vehicle, and committed the offence on wet roads with poor lighting.

Police are urging the community to report incidents of dangerous driving that also include hooning, burnouts, and drivers running red lights to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.

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