By Belinda Nolan
Latest Victoria Police statistics show St Albans tops the list of hoon hotspots, with 125 cars impounded in the suburb since anti-hoon laws were introduced in June 2006.
Brimbank Traffic Management Unit Sergeant Rod Stein said the figures proved police were catching more hoons than ever before but said further work needed to be done to stamp out the problem.
In the past year, TMU detectives have seized 150 hoon cars in Brimbank in a bid to remove dangerous drivers from the municipality’s streets.
Of the vehicles seized, 78 were confiscated for excessive speeding, 35 for improper use, 12 for attempting to evade police, 12 for driving without a licence, 10 for careless driving and two for drag racing.
Sgt Stein said police were aware of a drag racing problem in Brimbank and regularly conducted operations to target it.
“Large groups of them tend to congregate around large shopping centres and late night food outlets,” Sgt Stein said.
“If it’s just a couple of them, they will do it anywhere.
“We’ve already done one operation last week and we’ve got another one planned very shortly.
“We’ve got police officers working late into the night to shut these people down.”
In October last year, Brimbank Council launched a new campaign to crack down on hoons.
Council officers wrote to residents living in areas frequented by hoons, urging them to report dangerous driving to police.
Anyone who has witnessed hoon driving can contact the Crime Stoppers Hoon Line on 1800 333 000.
