Hoon driving is defined by generally reckless driving behaviour that puts others – the public – at risk. The penalties that a hoon driver may face include vehicle impoundment, immobilisation or forfeiture. If you have had your car taken away from you, contact Vanessa Ash for advice on getting it back – your first conversation is free of charge.
- Impoundment – a certain period of time where the car is in a police car park
- Immobilisation – the car is mechanically stopped from working
- Forfeiture – the car is permanently removed from the owner
Hoon driving is set into two categories. Level one offences are the more serious of the two, with level two offences being minor.
Level One Hoon Driving Offences
- Repeated drunk driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 or more (only after 30 June 2011)
- Repeat drunk driving (only after 30 June 2011)
- Repeat driving while disqualified or unlicensed (only after 30 June 2011)
- Driving at over 70km/hour or more above the speed limit
- Driving at 170km/hour in a 110km/hour zone
- Negligent or dangerous driving while being chased by the police
Level Two Hoon Driving Offences
- Any drink-driving offence where the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.10 or more (including a first offence)
- Deliberately causing a motor vehicle to skid, smoke or make excessive noise (burnouts)
- Deliberately driving across train or tram tracks when a train or tram is coming
- Dangerous driving
- Disobeying a police officer’s command to stop
- Driving in or organising a speed race
- Overloading a car with people
- Speeding at 45-70km/hour over the speed limit
- Speeding at between 145-170km/hour in a 110km/hour zone
- And more – the list is long
What the police are allowed to do after a hoon offence
The police have the right to take away your car or to immobilise it for up to 30 days if they believe your car has been involved – in the past 48 hours – in a hoon driving offence. If the police haven’t done anything about your hoon driving within that 48-hour window, they can still impound or immobilise the vehicle if they serve what’s known as a surrender notice on the registered owner.
This surrender notice must be served within 10 days of the alleged time of the offence, unless the incident is caught on a speed camera, in which case the police have 42 days to serve this notice. Police are able to apply to a court for the immobilisation, impoundment or forfeiture order.
Going to court
You will need to prepare to go to court, and you may be best served by obtaining legal counsel prior to your court date. Being found guilty can invoke a range of penalties depending on the offence and the magistrate. All of these offences generally end up on your criminal record. If you don’t have legal counsel, contact Vanessa Ash.
Impoundment and Immobilisation Orders
The Magistrate presiding over your case can make a court order for immobilisation or impoundment of your vehicle for up to three months if you have committed a Level One offence, or you have been found guilty of another hoon driving offence in the past six years.
Forfeiture Orders
Your car can be sold if you are found guilty or convicted of two Level One offences in the previous six years, or three hoon driving offences in the past six years. If your offence was committed before 1 July 2012, any hoon offences committed before this can be counted if they happened up to three years before your last hoon driving offence.
Other penalties you may face
These can be on top of or instead of the other penalties, and is at the Magistrate’s discretion.
- Fines
- Demerit points
- Driving disqualification
- Suspended licence or cancelled licence
- Prison time
What Vanessa Ash can do
Having your case heard and understood by the Magistrate is important, and how you present that case is critical to the outcome. Having Vanessa Ash at your side can be the difference between a good and bad outcome in court.
The Magistrate decides what happens to you, and can decide to make an order against a vehicle or not. If a case can be made that exceptional hardship to any person, including the driver, would occur from the vehicle being removed from circulation, it can be avoided. This can be difficult to prove.
You will have a chance to speak, but an application can be made appealing any decision once it has been made. It’s best to try to avoid a guilty plea or finding, however this isn’t always reasonable. Attempting to reduce penalties may be the way forward. This requires solid case management.
If the owner of the car was not the driver
An order can still be made against the vehicle even if the vehicle was owned by someone else. The owner of the vehicle, must appeal to the Magistrate to explain why they think the car should be left in their possession.
An undertaking may be requested, which means the accused driver won’t be permitted under any circumstances to drive that car for a specified time frame. Any breaches may result in prison or other consequences, including impounding, immobilisation or forfeiture of the car.
How to get a car back
If the car was immobilised, the owner of the car must attend the relevant police station to collect the keys. The immobiliser lock must be returned to the police station within 24 hours after unlocking. If the car was impounded, it is locked in a secure police garage, and at the end of the impoundment period, you must pay the storage fee to get your car back.
Call Vanessa Ash and Associates today to discuss your traffic offences case. First phone consult is free.