Police can now charge the owner of a vehicle involved in a hoon offence even if they claim they were not driving

Stronger laws allow police to charge the owner of a car linked to a hoon offence, even if they claim they were not the driver.

Police now have extra powers to target the owners of vehicles involved in hoon gatherings.

Mackay Whitsunday speedsters are warned to take heed as police are given extra powers to target illegal mass hoon gatherings as new laws come into play.

The stronger anti-hoon legislation bolsters police authority allowing them to serve notices on the owner of a vehicle involved in a hooning offence.

“This means if the owner of a vehicle claims they weren’t driving at the time of the offence, it will be up to them to prove it,” Police Minister Mark Ryan said.

Road policing units across the state will use hi-tech camera technology as well as the traffic monitoring CCTV network to target mass hoon gatherings.

More stories:

Key offenders arrested as police crack down on offending

TIMELY WARNING: Lock up or lose it Mackay

‘Unmotherly’: Woman slammed for being ‘too busy on meth’

Mr Ryan said police already captured hoon incidents on new high quality cameras and meticulously reviewed footage to identify drivers.

“The new laws are a game-changer for police, providing greater flexibility for officers to go after each and every vehicle taking part in illegal hoon events,” Mr Ryan said.

“Offenders will no longer be able to avoid prosecution by simply masking their identities and denying they had been behind the wheel.”

Assistant Commissioner Road Policing and Regional Support Command Ben Marcus said recent hooning events on the Gold Coast highlighted how dangerous such activities can become.

“The outrageous and despicable acts of hoons have been on display recently where they have not only endangered their own lives and others but they have turned violent on police and media,” Assistant Commissioner Marcus said.

“With the new legislation, combined with a fleet of hi-tech cameras, the community can expect to see even more enforcement action taken against dangerous hoons putting others at risk.”

Subscriber benefits:

How to activate your free Courier-Mail subscription

How to get Daily Mercury news straight to your inbox

Your dose of Harry Bruce cartoons

Mackay Detective Inspector Tom Armitt said police had not received any increased report of hooning, adding “a lot of our intelligence is coming from Mackay patrols”.

“But we are doing a lot of active and intelligence-driven patrolling over the last number of weeks,” Inspector Armitt said.

To report hoon activity phone the QPS’ Hoon Hotline on 13HOON.

Originally published as Police can now charge the owner of a vehicle involved in a hoon offence even if they claim they were not driving