The Goose of the week award goes to....
Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:49 amCops take car off 78-year-old hoon
* Reko Rennie
* January 6, 2009 - 6:48AM
A 78-year-old man has become the oldest Victorian to be penalised under "hoon" laws after police caught him driving at 170km/h on a narrow, winding road in Gippsland.
Baw Baw police caught the man driving a Nissan Pulsar at 170km/h in a 100 km/h zone in Brandy Creek Road, north of Warragul, in Gippsland, at 1.45pm on New Year's Day and immediately impounded the car. The man was following a Nissan Skyline driven by a 36-year-old Canterbury man who also had his car impounded. Both drivers will appear before court where they may receive fines and driver's licence suspensions.
The cost of retrieving the cars from the Warragul impoundment was $600 per vehicle, and both men had to wait until this morning to collect their vehicles.
Previously, the oldest driver to have a car impounded for excessive speed was a 64-year-old Armadale man who drove a Porsche at 110km/h in a 60km/h zone. One 65-year-old and two 67-year-old drivers driving while disqualified have also had cars impounded since the introduction of anti-hoon legislation.
Baw Baw acting Sergeant Carlo Visser said the road that the 78-year-old was hooning on was narrow and winding.
"It is disappointing to see a senior member of our community being so irresponsible. What example does this set for younger drivers?,''acting Sergeant Visser said. "The man expressed to us that he believed he was a skilled driver, and that he races cars.
"But we fail to see how a driver can be competent when they are tearing around roads at 170km/h knowing that other drivers will not be expecting you.
"To put those people's safety - and your own at such risk is really just toying with death.''
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* Reko Rennie
* January 6, 2009 - 6:48AM
A 78-year-old man has become the oldest Victorian to be penalised under "hoon" laws after police caught him driving at 170km/h on a narrow, winding road in Gippsland.
Baw Baw police caught the man driving a Nissan Pulsar at 170km/h in a 100 km/h zone in Brandy Creek Road, north of Warragul, in Gippsland, at 1.45pm on New Year's Day and immediately impounded the car. The man was following a Nissan Skyline driven by a 36-year-old Canterbury man who also had his car impounded. Both drivers will appear before court where they may receive fines and driver's licence suspensions.
The cost of retrieving the cars from the Warragul impoundment was $600 per vehicle, and both men had to wait until this morning to collect their vehicles.
Previously, the oldest driver to have a car impounded for excessive speed was a 64-year-old Armadale man who drove a Porsche at 110km/h in a 60km/h zone. One 65-year-old and two 67-year-old drivers driving while disqualified have also had cars impounded since the introduction of anti-hoon legislation.
Baw Baw acting Sergeant Carlo Visser said the road that the 78-year-old was hooning on was narrow and winding.
"It is disappointing to see a senior member of our community being so irresponsible. What example does this set for younger drivers?,''acting Sergeant Visser said. "The man expressed to us that he believed he was a skilled driver, and that he races cars.
"But we fail to see how a driver can be competent when they are tearing around roads at 170km/h knowing that other drivers will not be expecting you.
"To put those people's safety - and your own at such risk is really just toying with death.''
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I understand that doing burnouts and handbrakies - and wheelies and stoppies - like putting on a show for your mates, is "hooning" ... but when did it extend to just driving fast?
