Hoons defy police blitz
MELBOURNE'S worst car hoons have vowed to continue illegal street races as police admit they are battling to control a huge spike in the madness.[/b]
The Herald Sun was given a back seat with police as they made an unprecedented blitz on hoons at the weekend.
More than 100 officers from three regions focused on drivers in the worst-affected suburbs including Campbellfield, Somerton, Thomastown and Tullamarine.
The most extreme cases police have seen included:
MORE than 600 people watching burnouts and stunts;
CULPRITS pouring 20 litres of oil on a road for a display;
HOON clubs with members who wear identical hoodies with emblems; and
AN L-plate driver doing burnouts with his father in the passenger seat.
It takes just one text message and about 10 minutes to set up an illegal street race.
The crackdown follows the death of a 22-year-old driver in Adelaide last Thursday, when his car was hit by two alleged drag-racing drivers.
Police warn it is only a matter of time before it happens in Melbourne.
Videos on the internet in the past month show street races are more frequent and more popular than ever.
A video shows a crowd of hundreds, some on a make-shift stand, watching a modified car spin out of control.
"It's never been this bad," Senior Constable Simon Mayger said. "And I don't know it's a battle we can win.
"'They are doing everything they can to make it difficult for us at the moment."
But enthusiasts are defiant, saying the dangerous races will continue.
In Melbourne's northwest, hoon clubs have been formed in a snub to police authority.
The Thomastown and Craigieburn Hoon Club members sport their own uniforms and a complete disregard for authority.
Within an hour of the operation starting last week, a teenage driver in Campbellfield scoffed as police impounded his car.
"I love my car and I'm no hoon," he said. "I was just driving and my front tyres slipped 'cause they were low on traction."
Victor Roumbos, 18, was defiant after getting his fourth defect notice in as many days.
He said that after he had spent $17,000 on his car, the efforts of police weren't going to stop him.
"I'll just rip it off and be on the road again," he said.
One insider, a 27-year-old who works in the car modification industry in Melbourne, said police were unlikely to ever stop illegal meets.
"This sort of thing has been happening for many many years and it won't stop.
"Recently the meets have been very frequent, sometimes even three to four times a week with a turnout in the hundreds, moving to new spots once the police turn up.
"The issue is, there is nowhere convenient (or) legal for them to go. Some people like to go watch an opera singer belt out a tune; others (like) the scream of a hotted-up car in action."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25497744-661,00.html
MELBOURNE'S worst car hoons have vowed to continue illegal street races as police admit they are battling to control a huge spike in the madness.[/b]
The Herald Sun was given a back seat with police as they made an unprecedented blitz on hoons at the weekend.
More than 100 officers from three regions focused on drivers in the worst-affected suburbs including Campbellfield, Somerton, Thomastown and Tullamarine.
The most extreme cases police have seen included:
MORE than 600 people watching burnouts and stunts;
CULPRITS pouring 20 litres of oil on a road for a display;
HOON clubs with members who wear identical hoodies with emblems; and
AN L-plate driver doing burnouts with his father in the passenger seat.
It takes just one text message and about 10 minutes to set up an illegal street race.
The crackdown follows the death of a 22-year-old driver in Adelaide last Thursday, when his car was hit by two alleged drag-racing drivers.
Police warn it is only a matter of time before it happens in Melbourne.
Videos on the internet in the past month show street races are more frequent and more popular than ever.
A video shows a crowd of hundreds, some on a make-shift stand, watching a modified car spin out of control.
"It's never been this bad," Senior Constable Simon Mayger said. "And I don't know it's a battle we can win.
"'They are doing everything they can to make it difficult for us at the moment."
But enthusiasts are defiant, saying the dangerous races will continue.
In Melbourne's northwest, hoon clubs have been formed in a snub to police authority.
The Thomastown and Craigieburn Hoon Club members sport their own uniforms and a complete disregard for authority.
Within an hour of the operation starting last week, a teenage driver in Campbellfield scoffed as police impounded his car.
"I love my car and I'm no hoon," he said. "I was just driving and my front tyres slipped 'cause they were low on traction."
Victor Roumbos, 18, was defiant after getting his fourth defect notice in as many days.
He said that after he had spent $17,000 on his car, the efforts of police weren't going to stop him.
"I'll just rip it off and be on the road again," he said.
One insider, a 27-year-old who works in the car modification industry in Melbourne, said police were unlikely to ever stop illegal meets.
"This sort of thing has been happening for many many years and it won't stop.
"Recently the meets have been very frequent, sometimes even three to four times a week with a turnout in the hundreds, moving to new spots once the police turn up.
"The issue is, there is nowhere convenient (or) legal for them to go. Some people like to go watch an opera singer belt out a tune; others (like) the scream of a hotted-up car in action."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25497744-661,00.html
