WAR ON HOONS

IMPOUND RECORD AS POLICE SEIZE ONE CAR EVERY DAY

GEELONG police are confiscating at least one car every day to keep our dodgiest drivers off the road.

Banned and unlicensed drivers, hoons, leadfoots and those addled by booze and drugs were among the record number of motorists whose cars were impounded in the past year.

Police are astonished by how often they are forced to seize cars under Victoria’s anti-hoon laws, and have launched a new operation to banish those drivers from the road.

Police statistics show 436 vehicles were impounded in Greater Geelong last year, and 365 in 2019. That accounts for almost 3 per cent of Victoria’s total impoundments.

GEELONG police are confiscating at least one car every day to keep the region’s dodgiest drivers off the road.

Banned and unlicensed drivers, hoons, leadfoots and those addled by booze and drugs were among the record number of motorists whose cars were impounded in the past year.

Police are astonished by how often they are forced to seize cars under Victoria’s antihoon laws, and have launched a new operation to banish those drivers from the road.

Police statistics show 436 vehicles were impounded in greater Geelong last year, and 365 in 2019.

The numbers steadily increased across the decade from 2011-2020, when a total of 2055 vehicles were impounded.

That accounts for almost 3 per cent of Victoria’s total impoundments.

Western region road policing acting Inspector Tania Barbary said getting unsafe drivers off the road was “an absolute priority” for police.

“It is astonishing how many people are prepared to breach the road rules, and blatantly commit serious traffic and criminal offences, which warrants their cars being impounded,” Inspector Barbary said.

“Taking away the ability of drivers to put themselves and others in danger is a powerful tool to prevent death and serious injury on our roads, and we will use these powers wherever an opportunity exists and it is safe to do so.”

Inspector Barbary warned would-be hoons that police were on high alert, and would apprehend anyone caught driving dangerously and seize their vehicle.

“Our message to anyone out there engaging in any hoon behaviour is that this will not be tolerated — we will identify you, we will find you, you will be arrested and charged, and your car will be seized,” she said.

The 2020 data shows 202 cars were impounded in the region because they were driven by a disqualified or suspended driver, while 84 impoundments were linked to unlicensed driving.

The next most common reason for impoundments was improper use of a motor vehicle (37), following by driving more than 45km/h over the speed limit (36) and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 or higher (36).

Thirteen cars were impounded because the driver did not have proper control, one was impounded for drugdriving and another car was impounded because the driver failed to surrender.

Officers recently launched the statewide Operation Achilles to target illegal hoon driving incidents.

Former policeman and Western Victorian MP Stuart Grimley said it was “imperative” police had the power to impound cars to make the roads safer.

“These statistics show that changes made in recent years are having an immediate effect on the community,” he said.

A state government spokeswoman said newly introduced laws enabled police to take anyone off the road who was using a vehicle “as a weapon”.

“Specialist police units including highway patrol, crime investigation units and divisional response units are working together to catch hoons, so if you’re doing the wrong thing on our roads, expect to get caught,” she said.