What to do if you’re accused of hooning
I want to discuss offences relating to a loss of traction, more commonly known as burnout offences.
With the ever-increasing number of car shows and gatherings that car enthusiasts attend, combined with the large number of enthusiasts filming these events, it is possible to fall foul of the law. These offences do not have to be precipitated by police seeing you, and can come from video or CCTV footage being handed to or seized by police.
In New South Wales, the legislation governing these offences is essentially contained in s116 Road Transport Act 2013, which deals with “Conduct associated with road and drag racing and other activities”.
There are two forms: loss of traction as referred to in subsection (1) or aggravated loss of traction as referred to in subsection (2).
This in summary states:
(1) A person must not operate a motor vehicle on a road in such a manner as to cause the vehicle to undergo sustained loss of traction by one or more of the driving wheels (or, in the case of a motor cycle, the driving wheel) of the vehicle.
(2) A person must not:
(a) operate a motor vehicle contrary to subsection (1) knowing that any
