Hooning continues to be a problem in Ballarat despite the toughening of anti-hooning legislation laws two years ago.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Canadian Springs Drive residents Les and Dianne Sealey were woken on Friday night by a screeching noise and headlights coming through the window of their bedroom.
The couple and their four children were in their beds when an-out-of control car mounted the nature strip, flattened a gum tree and crashed into their verandah, a metre from their bedroom windows.
Ms Sealey said the driver asked: “What about my car, mate?” before fleeing the scene on foot.
“If (the car) hadn’t hit that tree we could be reporting a different story today – we would have had a car in our house,” she said.
“I don’t know if we feel like the unluckiest people today or the luckiest.”
Ballarat police acting sergeant Daniel Grainger said a car was travelling west in Bennett Street at 11.15pm when it lost control and mounted the kerb.
A car was heard doing burn outs before the crash.
For the family the incident came as a shock but not surprise.
Ms Sealey said they moved into the Canadian street in January 2012 attracted by the peaceful bush setting, only to see it develop into a hoon area in the past 18 months.
She became terrified their corner property would become a launching pad for a car.
“We have cars that come and do burnouts in the industrial estate that’s nearby...we hear it all the time,”she said.
“My partner and I will be contacting Ballarat City Council because we need some sort of action out here – action to put in speed signs and speed bumps to slow the drivers down.”
The council’s road safety committee chair Des Hudson said anecdotal accounts suggested Ballarat’s industrial areas and sporting reserves were being abused by hoons.
“Many feel it’s a place where the public isn’t going to see them,” he said.
“It’s also people’s lack of thinking of the potential risk of driving erratically and the danger they pose to the community.”
He said the council encouraged residents to contact Victoria’s official hoon hotline via Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.
“The collection of data is passed onto Victoria Police,” Cr Hudson said.
“When we’ve had some specific reports to council of a person in a particular street we do letter drops in those areas, just to again remind people of the hoon hotline and to let the person know they’re being watched and hopefully will modify their behaviour.”
A VicRoads spokesperson said young driver crash rates had been reducing, but young drivers were still a high risk group.
“That’s why Victoria has an on-going program of education, licensing and enforcement targeting this group,” the spokesperson said.
rachel.afflick@fairfaxmedia.com.au