Understanding street racing and hoon culture.

Street racing typically refers to competitive speed challenges on public roads, while “hooning” refers to activities such as burnouts or excessive acceleration. Recent media reports have highlighted the potential for fatalities or injuries and the public nuisance caused by these behaviours. In the last two years since the introduction of Queensland’s ‘anti-hoon’ legislation, over 1500 vehicles have been impounded and 4100 disturbance complaints registered. Similarly, between 1999 and 2004, 169 ‘hooning’ or racing crashes involving 12-24 year olds have been recorded by official Queensland police crash reports. The current investigation used a combination of focus groups, e-mail responses and message board feedback to conduct an examination of the experiences and perceptions of young people in regards to ‘hooning’ behaviour and legislative reforms. It is proposed that the results can be used to inform existing legislation and assist in the development of interventions from both a youth and Queensland Police Service perspective.