Hooning Fact Sheet from QUT Brings Car Club Cruising into Disrepute

[The Monty]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

See, there's your error right there...
The legislation does indeed say "excessively speeding means driving or operating a vehicle at a
speed more than 40km/h over the speed limit applying to the
driver under the Transport Operations (Road Use
Management) Act 1995."
However, it then goes on to further say "operates, or in any way interferes with the operation of, a
vehicle dangerously means operate, or in any way interfere
with the operation of, a vehicle at a speed or in a way that is
dangerous to the public, having regard to all the
circumstances, including—
(a) the nature, condition and use of the place; and
(b) the nature and condition of the vehicle; and
(c) the number of persons, vehicles or other objects that are,
or might reasonably be expected to be, in the place; and
the public includes passengers in a vehicle whether in a public
or private place."

That right there means that if the speed you are doing is considered "dangerous to the public", it doesn't necessarily have to be over the limit of the area. You could be driving at a speed in conditions ("having regard to all the circumstances") in a place where the officer judges that it is "excessive for the conditions", and you're in the poo.

Please don't tell us that this won't be "interpreted" as seen fit at the time by the roadside by individual officers on any given day. Well all know it will, and now they have the teeth to impound your vehicle for a long time until you prove you were innocent somehow, just to teach you a lesson.

I know you keep trying to push the boundaries and pick holes in everything to make yourself look better than the police. Just remember its not the police who make the laws, it is the government, the police only enforce them.

For the example you gave, I shall make it a bit simpler to everyone, and interpret it the way it is written.
If you get done 40km/h over the limit in the middle of the night, on the Gateway (3 lanes each way) you wouldnt get done for Dangerous Operation, as the other circumstances which MUST be proven by the crown in court, havent been fullfilled by you.

These are the conditions which must have been taken into consideration before being fined by the police:
a) the nature, condition and use of the place; and For instance, is it a highway, back street, school zone?
(b) the nature and condition of the vehicle; and For example, is it a new car, or a car with bald tyres that arent speed rated properly and no front bar..
(c) the number of persons, vehicles or other objects that are,
or might reasonably be expected to be, in the place; and Again, this means that you must take into consideration the amount of people, cars, or oblects that are NORMALLY in the place. Just because you caught a break in the traffic at 9am doesnt mean it was safe as there was noone around, it is reasonably expected that there WOULD be cars around at that time if day (if there usually is)

The legislation is there, I know a lot of you bar up at this comment, but if you dont do anything wrong, you wont get done for hooning. Just think of it this way:
Do you normally drive like a normal person?
Do you normally get hassled by other people on the road for your poor driving?
Do you normally get pulled over by police for hooning offences?

If not, this new legislation will change nothing for you, its not aimed at regular people like us who drive normally.


As for the 20km under thing, as far as Im aware there is no legislation regarding it, but you can be booked for:

83 Careless driving of motor vehicles
Any person who drives a motor vehicle on a road or elsewhere
without due care and attention or without reasonable
consideration for other persons using the road or place is
guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty—40 penalty units or 6 months
imprisonment.

But seeing as this is a simple offence, which requires you to go to court, it would need to be an act of gross negligence, such as 20km/h under on a single carriage way where there is a line up 2km long behind you, and you have passed numerous places you could have pulled over.

Again, if you drive normally, there is no problem. If you think youve been hard done by on any of these offences, once it goes to court (which it will have to), challenge it. The magistrate will usually side with the public over police, especially if they can see (and its usually quite obvious) that a miscarriage of justice has been imposed on you.

Josh