‘Revving engines to impress women’: Plan to tackle car noise in Surfers Paradise

Surfers Paradise residents are calling for police to crack down on hoons revving engines at all hours. WHAT YOU SAID >>>

RESIDENTS of a Gold Coast tourism hub are calling for a police crackdown on motorists “aggressively revving” engines at all hours to “impress women”.

The fuming residents say hooning is out of control in the Northcliffe Terrace area of Surfers Paradise and want police to carry out more vehicle noise checks.

Resident Melissa Lloyd-Knox said she understood noise was part of living in the heart of the Glitter Strip.

“It’s the exhausts that are illegal that make the noises we all hate,” she said.

“I’ve been here for 30 years. I’m used to fireworks, schoolies, holidaymakers, but this noise is just getting out of control.

“It mystifies me that the drivers think it’s okay to make that sort of noise.”

But another important question remains: If some motorists are revving to ‘impress women’, does this actually work?

A majority of Bulletin readers sympathised with the Surfers Paradise residents and disagreed that a loud engine was the key to a woman’s heart.

Here’s what they had to say:

Kelsey Truscott: Omg this happens constantly down Surf Parade! So annoying. Not a vibe. Try hards.

Pauline Gee: Revving engines are usually indicative of the owner sadly lacking in other areas

Michael Yeomans: Everyone knows they’re overcompensating for another inadequacy

Chris Simpson: Angry young men

Elle Lewis: Hopeless try hards… it just makes them look immature and brainless

Mark Morris: Unfortunately it’s not just the Glitter Strip but all over the Gold Coast! Trouble is the police do nothing about it!

Kylie Fiebig: I prefer burnouts.

Dotti Fortune: Little minded boys playing with their noisey toys and bugger the locals who have to listen every Friday and Saturday nights to these little boys playing at being responsible adults. I am not a newbie living in Surfers, but the irresponsible speed some of these drivers attain to get their thrill leave me astounded and worry for the safety of the public. Maybe we need more safety humps or something to slow these drivers down.

Matthew Armstrong: Is this a new thing or are the complaints from people new to Surfers Paradise? Next they’ll complain about the noise the ocean makes.

Vann Demon: Guessing this guy is jealous because his Prius doesn’t make a noise

Party strip car noise from ‘pathetic men’- November 4

RESIDENTS of the Gold Coast tourism hub are calling for a police crackdown on motorists “aggressively revving” engines at all hours to “impress women”.

The fuming residents say hooning is out of control in the Northcliffe Terrace area of Surfers Paradise and want police to carry out more vehicle noise checks.

Mark, whose last name the Bulletin agreed to withhold, has lived in Surfers Paradise for almost a year and said the problem was unrelenting.

“Especially come weekend times, it’s just a constant parade of loud cars and motorbikes,” he said.

“It’s (people) aggressively revving unnecessarily.”

The noise was so bad it had woken him up during the night, he said.

His only explanation for what was behind the activity was “pathetic men” who were “revving engines to impress women”.

Surfers Paradise residents are fed up with hooning and have asked police to undertake noise checks. Picture: Jerad Williams

Fellow resident Melissa Lloyd-Knox said she understood noise was part of living in the heart of the Glitter Strip.

“It’s the exhausts that are illegal that make the noises we all hate,” she said.

“I’ve been here for 30 years. I’m used to fireworks, schoolies, holidaymakers, but this noise is just getting out of control.

“It mystifies me that the drivers think it’s okay to make that sort of noise.”

There have been about 170 reported traffic complaints in Surfers Paradise over the past year, of which 10 related to noisy vehicles.

In the same period, police carried out enforcement action after 13 alleged offences in the party precinct, including dangerous operation of a vehicle and unnecessary noise or smoke.

A police spokesman said newly-strengthened anti-hooning laws meant the registered owners of suspected vehicles would be held accountable for suspect behaviour, in efforts to assist police crackdowns on hooning.

Picture: Jerad Williams

Police would continue current measures to target hooning on Queensland roads – including patrols, Polair aerial surveillance and a police drone fleet, he said.

Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek said he would continue to lobby the state government for more resources to act on the “scourge of hooning”.

He urged any locals who were concerned about the issue to contact his office.

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