Maudsland, Coomera, Pac Pines hooning: What’s happening and what police are doing about it

A Gold Coast man has spoken out about the frightening moment he confronted an alleged hoon who almost collided with him at a roundabout.

A PACIFIC PINES man has spoken out about the frightening moment he confronted an alleged hoon who almost collided with him at a roundabout.

Craig Falciola was driving on Binstead Way after picking up his daughter from school last week when the drama unfolded.

“I picked my daughter up from school and I was about to go through a roundabout,” Mr Falciola said.

“I saw this guy come, so I thought I’ll slow down and stop and let him go through the roundabout.

“Next thing I know he’s upping it, and he’s sideways all around the roundabout.

“The back of his car missed the front of mine by millimetres and I just saw red.”

Alleged hoon at a Pacific Pines service station.

Mr Falciola said he followed the man’s car to a local shopping centre where he confronted him about his actions.

“I went down there (to the shopping centre) and he’s pulled into the service station to pump up his tyres,” Mr Falciola said.

“So I’ve just out of my car and walked up behind his car with my phone.

“He said ‘what are you doing’ and he came up towards me, so I gave him a shove away. I thought he was going to do something.

“He goes, ‘I want to fight you mate’ and I said, ‘mate, you idiot, I just saw you drifting around the roundabout and you just missed my car.’

“And he goes, ‘f*** off or I’ll flatten you’.”

Mr Falciola said that after taking a photo of the man’s car he left the scene.

He said it was one of a number of incidents he had witnessed in the area.

“So much hooning goes on at the moment, it just does my head in,” he said.

RESIDENTS ‘SELL UP’ TO ESCAPE WILD HOONS

Residents are selling up and moving out of the Gold Coast’s northern suburbs because of nightly torment from hoons, according to an MP.

Theodore MP Mark Boothman said residents could no longer live with the noise and fear caused by regular drag races and burnouts by mostly juvenile offenders.

Maudsland woman Lisa Smith, who lives near a hoon hot spot at Guanaba Creek Rd, said her six-year-old daughter was regularly woken by the noise. But her greatest concern was that someone would be killed.

“When a car is doing burnouts it makes a heck of a racket,” she said. “It wakes the children up.

“Ten o’clock at night you start to hear it. You hold your breath, waiting for the clunk (of a car crash), thinking you might have to rush out to help.”

Local resident Lisa Smith beside tyre marks left by hoons next to the bridge over Coomera River at Guanaba Creek Rd. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Mr Boothman said it was “the same story night after night” in suburbs including Upper Coomera, Maudsland, Pacific Pines and Gaven.

“We even have residents who end up selling their homes as they can’t sleep at night without the fear of a speeding vehicle losing control and flying into their houses,” he said.

“Residents don’t blame the police, they know they have limited resources, as do the hoons.

“ … Hoons are not the owners of the well cared for machines that have had big dollars spent on them – they are generally the clapped out, or stolen, often unroadworthy deadly missiles waiting for an accident to happen.”

Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

Police said Maudsland was not currently considered a hoon hot spot, with 29 traffic complaint reports in the area since July 2020.

Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman said that police “do not tolerate” hooning and had been using a variety of methods to clamp down on the problem on the Gold Coast as part of Operation Tango Vinyl.

“Since March 2021, Operation Tango Vinyl has resulted in 29 vehicles being seized, more than 129 people arrested for hooning offences such dangerous driving and 470 tickets issued,” he said.

“Police continue to target illegal hooning activities within the Gold Coast District as part of Tango Vinyl and are also working with other agencies to research new strategies that will assist in managing hoon related matters.”

Acting Chief Supt Wildman urged residents to report hooning activities to 13HOON so that police could take action.

Hoons recently caught on camera by Queensland Police.

Ms Smith said police were quick to respond to incidents, but was concerned by a lack of “consequences” for offenders.

She has started a petition to the Queensland parliament calling for tougher action to be taken by magistrates.

“I’ve only got positive things to say about QPS, they have been fantastic,” Ms Smith said.

“As soon as you call they come out, they’re great.

“… But often, if they do manage to catch them, they get charged, they go through the court system and the court goes ‘naughty naughty’ and they’re out again. The courts are just letting them go. What are the police supposed to do?

“ … Only about six weeks ago some young kids took a car and left it at the end of Guanaba Creek Rd. They were in and out of the court system so fast.

“They were charged, they were taken in, and within two days they were out again.”

Ms Smith said she was starting the petition because she was concerned the young people involved in hooning would seriously injure themselves or others.

“Young kids around here are going to loathe me for doing it,” she said.

“But I’d rather they hate me and be alive then end up in hospital.”

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