HAD IT WITH HOONS Cane growers in the Rocky Point District are calling on their local council and police to take action against hooning in their area, saying it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed. BY WAYNE GRIFFIN
Nestled between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, this quiet rural community has become a hotspot for hooning activities in recent years. Mass gatherings of drivers and spectators, organised through social media, have become an almost weekly occurrence and locals have had enough. The absence of any significant police presence makes it a prime location for hoons, who can rev and race and do their 'circle work' on public roads without fear of arrest, locals say. "There could be 100 cars out there on any given weekend, racing around, doing burnouts, it's crazy. And the cops can't seem to do anything about it. It's pathetic really, “ CANEGROWERS Rocky Point Chairman Greg Zipf said.
“It can be very dangerous. There are people just walking all over the road and you'll have cars doing burnouts and donuts.”
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Greg lives a few hundred metres from one of the hoons’ favourite intersections, said locals use alternate routes when one of these gatherings is in full swing or, if they can't avoid the spot, are forced to navigate cars being driven erratically. "It can be very dangerous. There are people just walking all over the road, and you'll have cars doing burnouts and donuts. You just have to go through at crawling speed, and sometimes you can't even do that, because you can't see the car in the middle when they get it really smoked up. You just have to wait until they decide to stop circling round and round and let you pass," Greg said. Even when locals are not out on the roads, hoons are still a major nuisance, with screeching tyres and roaring engines cutting through the normally serene countryside.
