Professor puts a positive spin on hooning around

[sleekism]

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleID=43531

Professor puts a positive spin on hooning around
Adele Horin, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17/09/07




Hoons are a misunderstood lot. Just because they drive high-powered cars, rev their engines at the lights and blast the neighbourhood with execrable music does not mean that they are a menace on the roads.


Yet governments have been panicked into passing tough anti-hoon legislation that is so broad it can snare the car-mad along with the bad.

The plea for greater understanding of hoon culture appears in the latest edition of the journal Youth Studies Australia. Rob White, professor of sociology at the University of Tasmania, and his co-author, Hannah Graham, argue that sensational media reports have given the impression of "hoons taking over our streets".

"Hooning has been criminalised," they write. "However, close analysis of 'hooning accidents' as such reveals that hooning is not the large road safety problem the media makes it out to be."

Very few crashes involve high-performance vehicles, they say. Older and cheaper vehicles are more often implicated, and so-called hoons account for a very small percentage of all motor vehicle accidents.

Professor White said there was a difference between dangerous driving on the street, which was never acceptable, and the kind of activities car-crazed youths liked to engage in.

"We know from watching the Grand Prix that speed, fishtailing and burn-outs are exhilarating," he said. Providing these activities took place off the streets, in areas such as unoccupied industrial sites, they were not necessarily dangerous. "Indeed there are cases when certain types of hooning might well be considered safer than driving on main roads at rush hour," he said.

Young men who were part of the car culture derived excitement, status, and a sense of control through having an impressive vehicle to drive, the authors argue. They liked to build hot cars. They took pride in their driving skills. Having a passion for cars could be an exciting and positive lifestyle choice for young men with time on their hands. And spending money on cars was better than spending it on drugs.



"Drag racing in the streets is dangerous," Professor White said. "Give the young people a race track, or a disused or unoccupied industrial site instead. Offer help and hints on how to race fast, and safely."

The authors agree that young people are disproportionately involved in crashes. But the victims were not necessarily those who were part of a car culture. Rather young people were vulnerable because they tended to be driving at night in poorer quality cars.

[SiKoRa_eL_97]

Ftw!!

[Hybrid34]

Young men who were part of the car culture derived excitement, status, and a sense of control through having an impressive vehicle to drive, the authors argue. They liked to build hot cars. They took pride in their driving skills. Having a passion for cars could be an exciting and positive lifestyle choice for young men with time on their hands. And spending money on cars was better than spending it on drugs.

This Professor Is my hero, and this article just made my day, only if more people could read this in the community!

[CSV_LS1]

Next we see this guy deported to iraq for terrorism. Can't have him spread propaganda can we _

[Allen]

As much as agree with a majority of this article, I’m afraid Professor Rob White has just gone and ruined his credibility and reputation among his peers... Good on him for trying though, but no one with any real authority will listen to it, as it would be highly unpopular with the do gooders.

Its a shame really, that the majority of people in the position to write such articles are so easily caught up in the media frenzy... Just look back at that thread with the Surgeons Council of Australia or whatever they call themselves, and their comments on the solution for 'hoons'

I'm waiting for ACA to have a story on Professor Rob White, they'll totally shut it all down, and proberly claim he was high whilst writing the piece...

[|||]

i'm gunna do a burnout in his honour

[DBourne]

"Drag racing in the streets is dangerous," Professor White said. "Give the young people a race track, or a disused or unoccupied industrial site instead. Offer help and hints on how to race fast, and safely."

this is the bit that stands out for me most. He understands that "hoon" behaviour occurs and can come up with a logical way of allowing people to have an outlet.

lord knows if i could go to an industrial park and just have fun on a skid pan then i wouldn't even contemplate it on the roads. i'd just think "ah well on the weekend i can do some more skid work"

[3vXT]

He must know what he's talking about, he's a professor. (Sarcasm)

[Hunter]

I can bet your bottom dollar that if you give people more tracks that they will STILL do it on public roads - the act itself isn't the only reason people 'hoon' on the streets - its the fact that its illegal and you're 'not meant to do it' - and you can show off your 'elite' driving 'skills' to everyone on the street.

A track might make it easier for legit, law-abiding car enthusiasts to get their rocks off but the Commodore-driving, eminem-listening, singlet and thongs wearing bogans in their VP Commodores will still go and drop wheelies outside schools and use the wrong speed at the wrong time.

[uranium_death]

I have said too many times, no matter what legislation, what requirements or what facilities you introduce or make available, people will still be jerks because it is the anti-social thing to do.

It is nice to see a point of view that isn't sensationalist, which unfortunately is what the media tends to deal in nowadays.

[Ultimate]

Originally Posted by |||

i'm gunna do a burnout in his honour

Yes that will help the case wont it?

[blueoval]

I agree that hooning is a small percentage of road accidents today.

the laws should be tougher on persons/pensioners over 50yo whose reflexes are slower and can obstruct and endanger those who help support their retired lifestyle. Get them re-educated and test them more frequently. Sorry for the rant.

The proffessor FTMFW!

[DBourne]

Originally Posted by Hunter

I can bet your bottom dollar that if you give people more tracks that they will STILL do it on public roads - the act itself isn't the only reason people 'hoon' on the streets - its the fact that its illegal and you're 'not meant to do it' - and you can show off your 'elite' driving 'skills' to everyone on the street.

A track might make it easier for legit, law-abiding car enthusiasts to get their rocks off but the Commodore-driving, eminem-listening, singlet and thongs wearing bogans in their VP Commodores will still go and drop wheelies outside schools and use the wrong speed at the wrong time.

and i agree with you 100%.

but im sure there are a hell of a lot of young drivers like me who if they had a legal (innexpensive) means to get out the "hoon" in them, then driving when driving on the street wouldnt even think about doing anything half stupid.

Then again as you say, doesnt matter waht you do, will be

[clontarf_x]

Originally Posted by Hunter

I can bet your bottom dollar that if you give people more tracks that they will STILL do it on public roads - the act itself isn't the only reason people 'hoon' on the streets - its the fact that its illegal and you're 'not meant to do it' - and you can show off your 'elite' driving 'skills' to everyone on the street.

A track might make it easier for legit, law-abiding car enthusiasts to get their rocks off but the Commodore-driving, eminem-listening, singlet and thongs wearing bogans in their VP Commodores will still go and drop wheelies outside schools and use the wrong speed at the wrong time.

I disagree

Rob White isn't talking about the dangerous drivers. He is talking about the "car-mad" "performance enthusiasts". He fully acknowledges that there are some irresponsible and dangerous drivers there who consider their skills and maturity to be on par with the more educated and responsible enthusiasts.

That excerpt is pointing out how car enthusiasts are being painted with the same brush as road outlaws, a.k.a traffic criminals. You are correct in saying that the "hoons" will still go out on a public road and do it, but thats exactly it, they are the hoons, the one giving the enthusiasts the bad names.

He hilights that an enthusiast, a responsible driver, will find an unoccupied area such as a disused industrial area, or a remote truck yard, or a stretch of desolate highway to ensure no risk of danger to anyone else as a result of their actions.

I see what you are saying about the bogan vl drivers kicking out their single peggers at the local maccas, but then you have to remember thats exactly what they are. I would like to classify myself as an enthusiast, and as a result those guys don't earn any respect from me, and on that note, I agree with you

I say good on Mr White for trying to point this out to the public. All we need now are more qualified, professional figures to say "Hey, you know, he might be onto something", and we will finally be able to enjoy our cars and responsibility without being punished :/

[MITCHAY]

Hats off to them for saying it how it is. Probably hasn't made too many friends by doing so though :

[Tiapan]

Originally Posted by Hunter

Commodore-driving, eminem-listening, singlet and thongs wearing bogans in their VP Commodores will still go and drop wheelies outside schools and use the wrong speed at the wrong time.

pure fuc+ing gold!!!

[Tiapan]

Originally Posted by SgtBourne

and i agree with you 100%.

but im sure there are a hell of a lot of young drivers like me who if they had a legal (innexpensive) means to get out the "hoon" in them, then driving when driving on the street wouldnt even think about doing anything half stupid.

Then again as you say, doesnt matter waht you do, will be

im with you sarge! with my car almost everytime i turn the key i run into an old friend who has heard soo much about my car, so i take em for a drive, obviously its no good showing off how your new pride and joy $10,000 motor is by puttin around stuck behind a truck, so i give it a squirt and watch the smiles!

if there were a local 'at your own risk skidpan' i would putt my way there and then let loose, and putt home, no harm done!!!

skaters got bloody skateparks to keep them off the church stairs!!! and it worked for 60% of the skter boy community! because a skatepark is more fun then church steps!

why can we have a freakin skidpan!!??????? its half the cost of a freakin skatepark and it would be used more then the woolsheds or church carpark because it would be sh!tloads more fun!!

no i dont do burnouts in church carparks...im christian. it was an example

[Walt Kowalski]

Originally Posted by Hunter

the Commodore-driving, eminem-listening, singlet and thongs wearing bogans in their VP Commodores will still go and drop wheelies outside schools and use the wrong speed at the wrong time.

Spot on. I am still laughing.

[FPV8U]

Originally Posted by sleekism

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleID=43531

Professor puts a positive spin on hooning around
Adele Horin, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17/09/07




Hoons are a misunderstood lot. Just because they drive high-powered cars, rev their engines at the lights and blast the neighbourhood with execrable music does not mean that they are a menace on the roads.


Yet governments have been panicked into passing tough anti-hoon legislation that is so broad it can snare the car-mad along with the bad.

The plea for greater understanding of hoon culture appears in the latest edition of the journal Youth Studies Australia. Rob White, professor of sociology at the University of Tasmania, and his co-author, Hannah Graham, argue that sensational media reports have given the impression of "hoons taking over our streets".

"Hooning has been criminalised," they write. "However, close analysis of 'hooning accidents' as such reveals that hooning is not the large road safety problem the media makes it out to be."

Very few crashes involve high-performance vehicles, they say. Older and cheaper vehicles are more often implicated, and so-called hoons account for a very small percentage of all motor vehicle accidents.

Professor White said there was a difference between dangerous driving on the street, which was never acceptable, and the kind of activities car-crazed youths liked to engage in.

"We know from watching the Grand Prix that speed, fishtailing and burn-outs are exhilarating," he said. Providing these activities took place off the streets, in areas such as unoccupied industrial sites, they were not necessarily dangerous. "Indeed there are cases when certain types of hooning might well be considered safer than driving on main roads at rush hour," he said.

Young men who were part of the car culture derived excitement, status, and a sense of control through having an impressive vehicle to drive, the authors argue. They liked to build hot cars. They took pride in their driving skills. Having a passion for cars could be an exciting and positive lifestyle choice for young men with time on their hands. And spending money on cars was better than spending it on drugs.



"Drag racing in the streets is dangerous," Professor White said. "Give the young people a race track, or a disused or unoccupied industrial site instead. Offer help and hints on how to race fast, and safely."

The authors agree that young people are disproportionately involved in crashes. But the victims were not necessarily those who were part of a car culture. Rather young people were vulnerable because they tended to be driving at night in poorer quality cars.

Finally someone says it like it is.

Rob White, professor of sociology at the University of Tasmania for PM!

[Deadman]

Nice article. Doesn't talk about the fact that everyone else watching the 'hoon' thinks they're a tool :P I never thought they were to dangerous, just good for a laugh. (prepares flame suit)

[edit] I consider 'hoons' and 'motoring enthusiasts' two completely different and well seperated groups. (might avoid some flaming)

[Mark^^]

My comment on this is: community safety surveys are continually taken to measure the perception of 'safety' an individual experiences in their community. It is continually found that people feel ‘unsafe’ in their communities, and when the media and politicians raise the issue of 'high crime rates', the experience of being unsafe increases. However, it generally defies the actual trends in crime rates, which have over the last 10 or more years been decreasing.

So the communities perception of 'safety' is impacted on what they hear, not what is actually happening. So though this report by Rob White, a well know and respected academic, will have very little impact on perceptions on ‘hoon’ behaviour as the louder voices of media and politicians tells the community that ‘hoon’ behaviour is a threat to the safety of the community and so this will issue will continue to be seen as bad and dangerous activity no matter what the reality of the behaviours is.

[MO]

Originally Posted by blueoval

I agree that hooning is a small percentage of road accidents today.

the laws should be tougher on persons/pensioners over 50yo whose reflexes are slower and can obstruct and endanger those who help support their retired lifestyle. Get them re-educated and test them more frequently. Sorry for the rant.

The proffessor FTMFW!

TAKE YOU ON ANYTIME d/wit...yes I'm retired am over 50.

And guess what have a very good car handling background...club racing...two police driver training courses ..ACT and NT, and just to top it off drove 20+ton fire trucks for a living...mostly sideways.

[Tuddy200]

Originally Posted by MO

TAKE YOU ON ANYTIME d/wit...yes I'm retired am over 50.

And guess what have a very good car handling background...club racing...two police driver training courses ..ACT and NT, and just to top it off drove 20+ton fire trucks for a living...mostly sideways.

I say good for you, really. Unfortunly, "elderly" people can generalise about young drivers all being idiots or dangerous, so we throw it bac just the same. I'd have to say this, but younger drivers may speed alittle but we have the reflexes to get ourselves out of a sitiuation most times, whereas every thursday I seem to see some elderly person invloved in a car accident, with another elderly person.

No one will agree to someone elses point of view on hooning because this society is built on generalisation and targetting a group because of a minority.

[Jason[98.EL]]

Originally Posted by MO

TAKE YOU ON ANYTIME d/wit...yes I'm retired am over 50.

And guess what have a very good car handling background...club racing...two police driver training courses ..ACT and NT, and just to top it off drove 20+ton fire trucks for a living...mostly sideways.

wow dont hold back MO

but i tend to agree

i would love to see a few people get in a care with my old man

yes he is well over 50 and can teach a few a bit about driving

jason

[MO]

Guys just to diffuse the us and them prob.

I firmly believe that the younguns of today are taught to get their licence and not how to drive.

I was taught how to drive before I got my licence.

My take on the whole scene is: get back to basics teach the younguns how to drive then to get their licence.

I'm sick and tired of seeing in the news about younguns killing themselves through stupidity....just because they were taught how to get a licence and not how to drive.

I'll stop now because.......

[DOC]

Originally Posted by G.J.Tuddy

I'd have to say this, but younger drivers may speed alittle but we have the reflexes to get ourselves out of a sitiuation most times.

Stats say otherwise don't they ? 18 -25 highest risk for an accident, sure young heads are good but older ones don't allow them to get into a situation most times, they read the road, conditions and outcomes in a way only experience can provide.

[uranium_death]

18-24 year old males are killed most often in accidents, but over 65s are involved in the most accidents...they just aren't fatal as often.

So there is a point where experience counts for nothing, as your cataracts develop and your reflexes fall away.

[aussiblue]

Another over 50 here who thinks the Prof is right in lots of ways and that the anti-hoon laws can be a little too tough and open to abuse by occasional over zealous police.

I think it is tougher now to get a licence than I was young but the prevalence of auto trans and comparatively good roads does make driving easier these days and makes some P platers overconfident about their driving ability.

[3vXT]

I think the guy is about to be on sunrise if anyone is interested.

[Tuddy200]

Originally Posted by MO

Guys just to diffuse the us and them prob.

I firmly believe that the younguns of today are taught to get their licence and not how to drive.

I was taught how to drive before I got my licence.

My take on the whole scene is: get back to basics teach the younguns how to drive then to get their licence.

I'm sick and tired of seeing in the news about younguns killing themselves through stupidity....just because they were taught how to get a licence and not how to drive.

I'll stop now because.......

I agree. Glad to see your one of few that think clearly and not "brand" everyone.

I love it how so many "older 25+" drivers i'm with say how that young person just went speeding past them, only for me to point out that they have traffic banked up behind them for several k's and they are 10-15km under the speed limit.

18-25 being involved in more fatelities then elderly drivers is an issue, which comes back to two things, either they can't driver or being a nob! What reason do elderly people have for being the cause or invloved in the most car accidents though??