Next level stupidity: Crackdown on hoons unearths game console used for steering wheel
Hoons driving dangerously across south-east Queensland will find it harder to access their rides as police impound more than 50 vehicles during a major traffic crackdown.
Some of the vehicles confiscated included one fitted with a computer game steering wheel, part of a range of weird and dangerous modifications that have produced defective machines at the hands of hoons sharing their antics on social media platforms like TikTok.
Police Minister Mark Ryan described the infringements uncovered in the anti-hoon crackdown as a ādisaster waiting to happenā.
Conducted since June, Operation Uniform Elderberry resulted in police impounding 59 vehicles and issuing 2048 infringement notices.
āThe idiotic behaviour police have seen throughout this operation is downright disturbing and I commend officers for removing these vehicles from our roads and taking action against those responsible,ā Ryan said.
āWe do not want hoons tearing up our roadways like racetracks and putting themselves and innocent road users at risk for the sake of social media notoriety.ā
Road policing assistant commissioner Ben Marcus has foreshadowed further police action against hoons beyond the latest operation which also netted 164 drink and drug drivers.
āOur message to anyone taking part in high-risk activities on our roads is that we will continue to target you, investigate your dangerous antics and take action against you,ā Marcus said.
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Ryan said that under āowner onusā or ādriver deeming lawsā, a registered owner of a car must prove they were not driving the vehicle at the time of the offence or else they will face the consequences.
āAlong with some of the toughest penalties in the nation, this significant legal advantage for the Queensland Police Service sets Queensland apart from other Australian jurisdictions,ā he said.
In addition to penalties for hooning related offences of fines of up to $5338 and terms of imprisonment up to six months, hoons also face having their vehicle impounded or immobilised.
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