What defines a Hoon?

[SensationFG8]

With all this talk of crushing hoon cars etc I thought i'd throw the question out there. What would be the definition of a hoon?

Are they going to have powers to determine it on the spot and the car gets crushed no questions? If someone gets a bit of wheel spin taking off or if they accelerate a bit quick are they deemed a hoon?

Personally I think we need to be careful about the proceedure going forward. At this stage the police impound the car no questions asked no recourse to get it back. Take the mechanic in the lambo example. What if we had crush laws, does the owner lose his lambo?

I hope the government doesn't get into a knee jerk populist approach with any new laws the introduce and they think very carefully about how they implement this if they do. As a reasonably young person driving a nice shiny V8 I dont want some jealous cop crushing my car because I got to the speed limit a bit quick for his taste.

[chuckles]

i got pulled over a few months back because the cop said "you were using excessive acceleration which constitutes dangerous driving". Never got a fine but got a written warning. soon they will have cameras measuring how fast you accelerate from a set of lights and fine you for it

[aussie muscle]

That doesn't make sense. since when is acceleration dangerous, unless you get it sideways or something?

maybe they'll charge people for pollution if they smoke their tires?

[XBROO]

This is a really bad law as it's the police that decides, it should be a court matter. I mean I don't go around hooning, but every now and then I give the GT a sqirt from a set of light. Like nothing bad just first to second let off in 3rd which comes pretty natural for an old car. But this would be classed as hooning and then what? They crush an original XBGT. Then instead of being a traffic offender, I become a murderer because the way I feel about my car, I might lose it. Look I don't go around looking to race people or go to illegal burnouts or anything along those lines. I'm just a car enthusiast that only gets the car out for club runs, car shows and swap meets. I know they want to stop hooning but I think this is abit drastic. Unless your a repeat offender and you're just aren't getting it.

[ltd_on20s]

i wonder if anyone ever got a fine for riding a horse and cart too fast back in the day.....

[91'dSpecEB]

Have to agree this whole 'hoon' thing has been blown waay out of proportion. Its suicide being a P plate driver these days. Anything to nab you for something. I dont break the speed limit but i too enjoy getting to 50 or 60 a bit quick, sometimes your just in the mood, whats the big deal if your not going past the limit..?

[XBROO]

Agreed there no difference if you accelerate quickly to 60 from a set of lights, to if the light was already green and you come though at 60.

[91'dSpecEB]

Good point!

[TasXR6]

Unfortunately there is a law stating "excess acceleration" or driving for public display of acceleration. Like sustained loss of traction, they wont book you if you accidentally loose traction off the lights from being a bit dopey with the clutch, but if you rev it up and dump it and then hold the foot down to keep it going, your done. Same sort of thing goes for acceleration, if you take off and go to 60 quickly, your unlikely to get booked, but if you slam it to firewall, even if you dont break traction but it is clear you are flooring it, you could be booked.

In my experience as a last year P plater in tassie, the cops arent often truly unfair. Ive been pulled over once for speeding back when I was displaying P's, i was doing 104kmh and the officer had a chat to me about agreeing that 80 was a bit of a pain on a highway run, but 104 was excessive. He told me to continue on at a speed I thought was reasonable.

Also, I have been pulled up for spinning my wheels in the wet, when it let go i pushed a little further across the lights and let the one wheel wonder continue, right in front of an unmarked. He pulled me and asked what that was, and I said im sorry, i was being stupid and spun my wheels in the wet. He told me it was cause for a "sustained loss of traction" fine, but he said as i was straight up about deliberately being a dick, he wrote me a warning.

I dont see a problem if your not being a retread.

[4Vman]

Its just a word guys... we make too much of it i think.

[SVTVNM]

Anyone who doesn't sit 10kays under the speed limt, and anyone who doesnt have a knitted blanket on the back seat.

[Wally]

Originally Posted by SensationFG8

With all this talk of crushing hoon cars etc I thought i'd throw the question out there. What would be the definition of a hoon?

........

Well it dates back to the 1930's in Oz and those people across the tasman. It then meant:

1. a procurer of prostitutes, but not a pimp
2.a showoff with limited intelligence
3.a flashy lout or hooligan
4. one who drives in a dangerous, showing-off manner

In the 80's it became:

1. exhibitionist, loutish behaviour.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by Wally

Well it dates back to the 1930's in Oz and those people across the tasman. It then meant:

1. a procurer of prostitutes, but not a pimp
2.a showoff with limited intelligence
3.a flashy lout or hooligan
4. one who drives in a dangerous, showing-off manner

Did you ever get called a hoon back then Wally?

[mrbaxr6t]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Its just a word guys... we make too much of it i think.

yes it is just a word, but there are many others that can be used in a derogatory way that the swear filter doesn't like, this word has been made into a derogatory term by the media in the eyes of the public, yes its just a word but one that gets used in a derogatory way toward a specific group .. ring some bells?

what say we add it to the swear filter, it offends me

[auxr]

Handling
Option
Overdrive
Nanny

It's only a word, as has been previously mentioned.

[just_pazz]

anyone who drives a modded vehicle....

[|||]

a hoon to me is someone who doesnt mind ripping a great skid but is also a top bloke who would help you move house or assemble a gazebo

[TasXR6]

Originally Posted by just_pazz

anyone who drives a modded vehicle....

Its almost percieved that way the general populace. I know around here (launceston, tas) there are quite a few modified cars (as a percentage of the total cars) and of which most come out at night. I too am guilty of going for a drive of an evening to meet some friends and have a chat in a car park. But mostly it is entertaining to watch the f-tards that will drive their old magna/pintara/pulsar/excel far more dangerously than the people with the "modified" cars.

And the police down here at least seem to realise that, as very often I have seen a clearly borderline modified car roll on by a squaddie, and a stock magna/pintara/pulsar/excel and often it is the latter that has been pulled.

Police around here seem to be pretty reasonable..

[Fairmont Man]

Hey guys, just wanted to add my 2 cents worth. To me there is a difference between a hoon or hooning and speeding. A hoon for me is someone who basically drives recklessly, such as throwing the car sideways around most corners, doing burnouts and donuts, excessive speeding in built up areas, zipping in and out of traffic and leaving every set of lights in a cloud of smoke. On the other hand, someone on a well made and maintained road such as the Hume Freeway, or sections of the Princes Highway, or other major highways who gets up to 130, 140, or maybe 150km/h, I wouldn't describe as a hoon. They are just speeding, plain and simple. I'd also think one to be far more dangerous than the other. I think you can be speeding as defined under the law without having the hoon element, but doubt that many hoons don't speed.

Just my point of view, and there sure is alot of debate on it at the moment.

[SensationFG8]

Originally Posted by auxr

Handling
Option
Overdrive
Nanny

It's only a word, as has been previously mentioned.

It may be "only a word" but if it is enshrined in law with very real consequences then it has effectively become more than that.

[blueoval]

A hoon I think is based on a person or persons behaving in a manner that draws unnecessary attention to themselves while in ANY type of vehicle. Whether it be accelerating too fast, speeding, burnouts, stereos too loud or revving their engine unnecessarily, It is not and should never be about the vehicle.

A 'hoon' will demonstrate their behavior in what ever vehicle they want. It doesnt matter what brand, stock or modified. The 'person' whom is operating the vehicle at the time should be penalized.

[jamesson1980]

I wouldn't say MODS = HOON, I certainly hope not.. to me, MODS = UNIQUE. I would say a hoon is someone who does things in their car that compromise their control of the vehicle eg; 140 in an 80 zone, skids beyond the little traffic light chirp, drifting etc.. Calder Park and the likes are places for those who are that way inclined to enjoy their 'hoon' tendencies in an environment where they only pose a risk to themselves, a risk that can't be eliminated. Those who do this at intersections, streets and freeways shared by the public are hoons to me.
Do what you like with your car and your life in a designated area, maybe you'l get lucky and hit a wall of tyres.. do it on the roads and there's every chance you'll kill a mother and her kids before you kill yourself.

[jamesson1980]

.. haha despite how that sounds it's not aimed at YOU the reader! More to a wouldbe Hoon.

[XBROO]

Hoon is just a word. Well so is racist and I wouldn't want to be labeled of either.

[Airmon]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Its just a word guys... we make too much of it i think.

A word which defines an illegal form of Behaviour. I think a clear definition is warranted given you can be fined for being one.

In NSW, while the term "Hoon" is not defined specifically, hoon behaviour is said to be "a driver who commits a street racing or aggravated burnout offence".
Street racing, which includes hard acceleration, even if you are the only car on the road at the time.

Basically a Hoon is whoever the Police at the time define it to be. It comes down to their judgement, so long as you are driving aggressively.

[blueoval]

Whats stopping corrupt cops from labelling you one for their 'quota' or own personal vendetta?

[FPV+fteT3]

By definition I am going for a hoon to the shop for some milk...............

Would or could do something hoon worthty in my drive by vague definition :eclipsee_

[EBW-302]

According to the news, hoons are even graffiti artists, people starting fights in the street, etc..
Pretty sure most cops see modified car owners as hoons, were all screwed, lol!

[UNR8D]

Fuller explains for hoons it is about what the car can do and the status that it gives. He says hoons see the public roads as a resource they can use for their own purposes and not something to share. He says loud stereos are about taking over this shared resource, like marking their territory. Wayne says when he drives in Adelaide people don’t let him change lanes. Fuller says this is a version of hoon driving. He says the definition of a hoon begins as soon as a driver stops thinking about the road as a shared resource.

SA's top cop on his version of hooning... looks like alot of cars are going to be crushed at this rate.

[just_pazz]

I remember a media report a couple of months back where some kids where throwing rocks off of a overpass at oncoming cars.... smashing someones windscreen in the process.

They were referred to as "hoons".