Hoons should be monitored by technology to stop dangerous behaviour, Adelaide Uni research says

The worst repeat hoon drivers should be monitored with CCTV in their cars, tracked by GPS and have their speed limited, an Adelaide Uni study says.

CARS should be fitted with hoon-limiting technology to help stop the worst repeat offenders, a Transport Department-backed study has found.

University of Adelaide researchers studied global attempts to stop repeat offenders who are more likely than one-off offenders to ignore fines, loss of licence or warnings.

Technological solutions that could be aimed at repeat offenders were included:

GPS tracking to identify speeding and erratic driving such as burnouts.

ACCELEROMETERS, which can identify hoon behaviour such as street racing;

ALCOHOL locks used as a semi-permanent solution for the worst drink drivers;

SPEED limiting devices to make vehicles keep to road limits;

CCTV of cabin behaviour, which could identify if a driver has control of their vehicle, and

FINGERPRINT electronic ignition keys, which could lock out bad drivers.

Centre for Automotive Safety Research author Simon Raftery said: “Penalties should prevent recidivists from driving, but also ensure that when they drive again they do so without jeopardising the safety of others’’.

“The effectiveness of current penalties, such as suspended sentences, could be improved by introducing monitoring to the penalty,” he said.

“Recidivists are a distinct group who persistently offend despite having experienced legal sanctions.

“Research investigating differential deterrence suggests that recidivists are most likely to possess characteristics that make them least affected by the threat or experience of legal sanctions.”

Police Minister Vincent Tarzia said the recommendations would be examined.

“We are always looking at ways in which we can make our roads safer and improve driver behaviour and we are open to looking at new technology where appropriate,” he said.

The study found on-board data recording systems could be used to track hoon driver behaviour; based on GPS, accelerometers, and CCTV.

“Traditional methods of enforcement are only able to detect illegal or unsafe behaviour at a point in time and only if it occurs in the presence of a speed or red-light camera, police patrols, or if it results in a crash,” Mr Raftery said.

“But there can be continuous monitoring of driver behaviour, as determined by vehicle operating characteristics, providing warnings to the driver and reports about the behaviour to authorities.”

In one solution, computers could alert authorities when a driver leaves a “geofenced” area, such as the path on which they are allowed to travel to and from work.

Parents could also be given reports to help control dangerous L- and P-plate drivers.

The study also recommends ongoing attention be paid to the underlying causes of repeat offending, as technology works only when being applied before offenders lapse back into bad behaviour.

The worst behaviour characteristics of repeat offenders to be tackled are: speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and reckless or dangerous driving.

Risk factors for drink driving include alcohol abuse or dependence, mood disorders, anti-social behaviour, positive attitudes towards drink driving, and drink driving being perceived as the social norm.

Hooning has been linked with factors such as sensation-seeking and risk-taking, a general tendency towards deviance, peer pressure, socialisation, and aggression.