Aussie gets second car yanked under anti-hoon laws after posting antics on Facebook

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:29:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Australia

According to The Herald Sun, since Victoria, Australia introduced anti-hoon legislation on July 1, 2006, more than ten cars a day have been confiscated from their owners. That's over 8,000 cars in three years, more than 5,000 of which the police still have. Despite those big numbers, Victorian Peter Black has the distinct honor of being the first Aussie to surrender two different cars in two years for hooning.

While our instincts generally tend to sympathy any time a car is taken away, we can't feel sorry for Black because he's guilty of criminal vanity: he broke the law and then posted the video of it online. That led to someone alerting the police as to the video's existence, and in turn, to the authorities alerting Black that he could hand over the keys to his Ford Falcon ute. How many times do we have to say it? Drive safely. If you don't, please keep it to yourself.

Black's case goes in a similar file to Aussie Joshua Shelton's - the 19-year-old had his arm amputated after a high speed crash, then had his license taken away after he was busted two months later doing donuts, and then he got busted this week twice in an hour for two different "hoon-related activities" while he was a passenger. These kids today...

[Source: Herald Sun]

Aussie gets second car yanked under anti-hoon laws after posting antics on Facebook originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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78-year old's Nissan Pulsar impounded after AU street race with Skyline

Michael Harley — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Nissan, Australia, Humor

A 78-year-old Australian man with a need for speed had his car impounded after being caught racing at 170 km/h (105 mph) on a winding road east of Melbourne on New Year's Day. It seems John Belfield, the senior citizen under the spotlight, is a member of a local Nissan-Datsun sports car club. The club was holding a social run for its members on January 1, and Mr. Belfield was in attendance with his sporty Nissan Pulsar.

When prodded during the drive by a 36-year-old fellow club member in a Nissan Skyline, Belfield couldn't restrain himself and took chase. While it isn't clear who had the lead when the police intervened, the local constabulary did nab both drivers and promptly impounded their cars based on Victoria's "hoon laws" (a series of laws that covers certain types of speeding, burnouts, street racing, screeching brakes, etc...). The violation, according to police records, makes John Belfield the oldest person to have his car impounded under the law... an accolade, of sorts. In his defense, Mr. Belfield pointed out that he is a skilled driver who races cars. We doubt that got him off the hook, as it has never worked for us when we're in our Pulsars. Thanks to Sam for the tip!

[National News AU]

78-year old's Nissan Pulsar impounded after AU street race with Skyline originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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