RoadSafe WestGate Community Road Safety Council member Kim McAliney at a street where hoons are terrorising residents. Picture: XAVIER SMERDON
By XAVIER SMERDON
A HOPPERS Crossing resident – who has been terrorised for more than a year by hoons tearing up and down his otherwise peaceful suburban street – has supported a move by Wyndham City Council to refuse speed humps in a nearby street.
The resident, who did not want to be named, said he could frequently hear the screech of cars as they used the speed humps as launching pads.
“It wakes everyone in the street up in the middle of the night and by the time I’ve gone out the front door to see what’s happening, they’ve gone,” the resident said.
“Sometimes you can’t even see the car through all the smoke.
“The frightening thing is that you’re waiting to hear a thud but it just doesn’t come.”
When Star visited the resident’s street last week, thick burnout marks could be seen going for longer than 100 metres.
At last week’s council meeting a request to put speed humps in Thorpe Ave in Hoppers Crossing was rejected in favour of driver education.
Councillor Shane Bourke said it was a common misconception that speed humps are the best answer for hooning hotspots.
“I think sometimes residents, and we all do this, think that speed humps will solve all the problems, and unfortunately they don’t,” Cr Bourke said.
“You can’t legislate for idiots, and the idiots are the hoons.”
The resident that Star spoke to said he agreed with Cr Bourke and said he would prefer to see permanent speed cameras put in place.
“Speed humps serve no purpose. They only encourage the hoons to use them as launching pads.”
