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Police have significant powers in respect of the investigation of those driving offences which are colloquially known as hooning. In Queensland, hooning offences are divided into “Type 1” and “Type 2”, depending on the seriousness.
Type 1 offences are considered more serious and include:
- Dangerous driving
- Reckless driving
- ‘Burnouts’, ‘Doughnuts’, and ‘Drifting’
- Organising or participating in street racing
- Evading police
Type 2 Hooning charges are considered less serious and include:
- Driving an uninsured and unregistered vehicle
- Driving without a licence or when your licence has been suspended
- High range drink driving
- Exceeding the speed limit by more than 40km/h
- Driving a modified vehicle that does not comply with vehicle safety standards
The police powers include impoundment and immobilisation. Impoundment results police seizing the vehicle and detaining it in a secure holding yard (with storage costs to be paid once it is permitted to be released). Immobilisation involves police attaching an immobilisation device to prevent the vehicle from being moved or removing and confiscating the number plates.
Penalties are harsh and even a first-time Type 1 offender may be subjected to their vehicle being impounded or immobilised for 90 days (in addition to any infringement fines and Court penalties). If you are found guilty of a Type 1 offence on two or more occasions, then the State will seek for your vehicle to be forfeited permanently then destroyed or sold.
While first Type 2 offences do not attract impoundment or immobilisation, any subsequent offence will. In the event of a second offence, the vehicle will be impounded or immobilised for seven days. A third infringement results in a 90-day impoundment or immobilisation and a fourth offence may result in the indefinite confiscation of the vehicle after the conclusion of any court proceedings.
If your vehicle has been impounded or immobilised, mechanisms do exist for applying for its early release. To make a successful application requires proving that:
- not having your vehicle is causing you severe financial or physical hardship
- the cause of the offence has been corrected – for example, the vehicle has now been modified to comply with safety standards
- you are the vehicle owner and the offence happened without your consent
- the impoundment or immobilisation was unreasonable
The application must be made to the Commissioner of Police and contain documents that support your application.
The most serious of these traffic offences is dangerous driving which carries a maximum penalty of a 3 year term of imprisonment. If you were to be convicted of killing someone while driving dangerously you can also be charged with manslaughter (for which the penalty is up to life imprisonment), or dangerous driving causing death which can result in a jail term of up to 10 years.