This petition is intended to draw the attention of Merri Bek councillors outlining the benefits for the implementation of new approaches aimed at putting a stop to hooning and antisocial behavior as part of a campaign to save lives and reduce the risk of serious injury or fatality.

Please read and sign this petition.  Help spread the word and share the link with family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues throughout your community.

Residents in Hadfield and surrounding borders have had enough! A submission will be made to the council of Merri Bek for a call to action by way of a petition urgently needed for change and reform. Demographic hotspots in Hadfield are known for dangerous driving and crime. This is a serious concern for residents, as heightened trends and a rise in hoon activity rears it's ugly head again. 

We, the undersigned, petition Merri-Bek City Council to help restore public safety, be accountable in addressing the need for better managed public roads, demonstrate responsiveness to community voices and those whose livelihoods remain vulnerable. The disruption of community peace has no place in Hadfield. Don't wait until it's too late for tragedy to strike unsuspecting victims. Help us make a difference by building capacity through joint partnerships. Assess, devise and implement practical solutions in support of preventing serious injury or death. 

We ask the Merri Bek City Council to:

review current hoon measures, processes, and reporting procedures with a focus for identifying ineffective practices or outdated measures currently in place, e.g. Where crime stoppers hoon hotlines tend to lack real-time opportunities for law enforcement to apprehend offenders when a call is made, despite limited resources in a fiscal environment.

implement safer and visible walkways/footpaths on East Street with reflective night signage at bus stops, provide more bus shelters, increased lighting, metal crossing road pads and civic bollards to deter/minimise reckless driving near the roundabout at East/Middle Street and the intersection of East/South Street; 

Improve safety at Reddish Children's playground on Domain Street. (a known location where hoons drive unlawfully at high speeds placing children and families in significant danger). Evidence of tire marks, burnouts, fishtailing, and swerving can be readily observed. Damaged curbsides where offenders have lost control driving over foot paths has left many locals frightened. We ask that council apply anti-skid paint treatments and install CCTV equipment along the East and Domain Street precinct to deter organized gatherings where poor street visibility is favorable to offenders making vehicle identification difficult. Council to install lighting in dark streets and inconspicuous spots behind commercial buildings and shops on Domain Street;

endorse and help provide access to technology that will improve anti-hoon strategies with real-time audio surveillance cameras on East Street. (in accordance to the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 Victoria). Installation in fixed and temporary locations will help alert authorities to loud noises, unlawful activity sending location coordinates to law enforcement officers who can support our community in real time, responding to  road management with effective policing strategies. 

(To date, there are no road safety cameras installed within the suburb of Hadfield as there are across other areas of Merri Bek.) An online submission was made to the Victorian Government Safety Road Camera Department on May 25th, 2023, requesting considerations for camera installations at the above-mentioned points; 

council to engage in joint collaborations between governments, residents and community stakeholders to deliver clear communication and guidelines. Creating a ROAD STEERING COMMITTEE (for example) will help plan interventions and strategies that can produce achievable objectives. Taking on board community sentiments for the introduction of by-laws could increase powers for road authorities and law enforcement in Hadfield.;

we ask council to help increase  community confidence, gain trust for law enforcement when reported incidents are not followed up when overstretched resources and patrols are at full capacity. 

council to diversify communication methods, communicating at a grass-roots level where information, research, and trending influences can be used to adopt a forward thinking strategy in support of quantifiable investments needed to educate multi-use vehicle uses with the deployment of electronic signage, for warning drivers of penalties if caught hooning or participating in antisocial behavior; 

council to introduce by-laws targeting first-time and repeat offenders in order to  increase adherence to compliance of road laws and regulations. Council to work with relevant stakeholders to align final action plans with Victoria Police Road Policing Strategy, Victorian Government Road Strategy, and the National Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030;

council to liaise with their own legal contacts for the implementation of local by-laws in response to research findings collected by committee groups in consultation with residents; 

An example of what by-laws could look like may include but not be limited to the following:

a) Any person identified as participating in, encouraging, attending, or organizing a hoon event without a lawful excuse is guilty of an offense. 

b) Any driver of a motorized vehicle must not stop or park nearby any hoon gatherings or events without a lawful excuse. 

What constitutes the definition of hooning and antisocial behaviour is to be approved by approved governing bodie/s with the ability to include terminology as agreed by a committee when describing vehicles driven in a manner that involves the loss of traction, participation in drag racing, time trials, emission of toxic fumes and smoke, undue noise, the release of chemicals from exhausts, burnouts, friction on footpaths or bitumen etc.

Other councils who have successfully introduced by-laws in a crackdown on offenders include Brimbank City Council, Frankston City Council, and Greater Dandenong Council. The latter two introduced a $500 and $250 penalty respectively. These measures have been well received by the community to date. 

Department of Transport Victoria Police 

Transport Accident Commission 

Department of Justice and Community Safety 

Department of Health, to be contacted for gathering analytical data such as socio-economic trends, surveys, and historical facts, road engineers where appropriate. 

Council to revise current speed limits where it is deemed practical to consider reducing 50 km speed zones to 40 km zones as a way of minimising harm to people who use East Street; 

Background:

Hoon drivers across Hadfield put themselves, passengers, and bystanders in grave danger. Reckless and defiant behavior influences attitudes. Deliberate efforts by offenders who choose to ignore road laws often do so with the intent to attract attention whilst embarking on a crusade, speeding without stopping, slowing down, or giving way. 

Hoon encounters have seen offenders travel in excess of 100 km in a 50km zone on East Street. These occurrences happen at any given time of the week, day or night, and throughout the early hours of the morning. 

East Street is a densely populated area where people commute for school drop-offs, school pickups, business hour shopping, evening commuting from work and as an alternate route to bypass major arterial roads including Sydney Road highway. 

East Street is commonly used as a gazetted road or thoroughfare where multi-type vehicles traverse from other suburbs cutting through Hadfield to avoid highways. This contributes to frequent pile-ups where congested traffic becomes bottlenecked from Middle/East Street roundabout city bound onto the busy South Street intersection. Cars, motorbikes, scooters, cyclists, and pedestrians, coupled with buses (527) carrying passengers on and off various stopping points are at higher risk of the collision when sharing narrow lanes at peak times. Notable black spots at all points of the map are known to cause crashes and near-misses. 

Many residents have expressed a fear and reluctance to use East Street and adjoining roads after witnessing accidents, harm to others. Damage to personal property and public spaces, screeching noises from skidding and tailgating disrupts  neighborhood peace, leaving people with no alternative but to use East Street. 

Damage and destruction to flora and fauna, government structures, public furniture, traffic signs, and other infrastructure are expensive to replace or repair. 

Underreported hoon incidences are often attributed to various factors: intent to evade apprehension by police, possible arrest, driving/hooning under the influence, avoiding outstanding warrants, possible charges or legal consequences from criminal activity, refusal to pay compensation and damages to other parties involved in collisions, cause and effect from injury or death, penalties and infringements, convictions and incarcerations, court orders compelling offenders to participate in rehabilitation or change behavior programs, loss of license or vehicle impoundment. 

In the absence of accurate data unavailable for underreported incidences, funding allocations, interventions, and modifications needed for joint planning opportunities could see disproportionate numbers documented which could impact the distribution of monies for upgrading road traffic management. 

Inhabitants living close to the intersections of St.James and Fitzroy Streets in Hadfield are at higher risk of impact and collision because of dangerous drag racing that occurs along Domain Street.

Antisocial behavior includes but is not limited to noise, shouting, and verbal abuse, swearing, fighting,  intimidation of neighbors and others through threats or actual violence; harassment including racial or sectarian aggression. 

The ill effects caused to our community health and safety from hoons and anti-social behavior is a major obstacle when campaigning for better roads and reform. 

Smoke and fumes releasing chemicals from burning rubber causes health issues and frightens locals who are often scared to leave their homes. This also disrupts people who work from home. 

Social media polls were recently posted on the Hadfield Community page and Hadfield Good Karma with positive support from community members who want their voice to be heard for urgent change to occur. 

Petitioners who wish to add additional Streets and places of concern to this petition can do so in the comments. Comments can be made anonymously if preferred. 

PLEASE SHARE THIS PETITION TO HELP GAIN MOMENTUM. 

LINKS

Contact the Crime Stoppers Hoon Hotline on 1800 333 000 or report it online on the Crime Stoppers Victoria website. 

https://www.crimestoppersvic.com.au/

Victoria Police Anti-Hoon Laws: https://www.police.vic.gov.au/hoon-laws 

Bill of Parliament

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:b1c9088c-768f-4f15-b5b1-b5fbd79478fb 

Tips on keeping safe on our roads: 

https://www.police.viCommissionroad-safety-0

END PETITION