Hume racers shut down

I’m a fan of drag racing, burnout competitions, summernats and motor-sports generally. I also happen to be an educated mid-20s female.

I spent alot of my teenage years with the “scrotes” (I’ll call them young car enthusiasts) that couldn’t control themselves when it came to doing the odd burnout and traffic light drag on the streets. I even spent some time at Hume – there has been a car scene there for years and years.

The car enthusiasts that I know would have paid for and used this kind of facility as irresponsible teenagers and certainly now as responsible adults. Their less than desirable on-road behavior was always directed to remote areas like Hume, country ACT roads or traffic light racing “first to the speed limit”. That doesn’t make it “ok” or any less illegal but in their own way they were trying to find suitable facilities for themselves without endangering the public.

Those teenage $%^&box cars represented a significant portion of a low income going towards gradual improvement and alot of mechanical skill and perseverance learnt along the way. 10 years and a significant increase in income later the same cars have heavily modified performance engines, full paint and interiors, nice wheels and car trailers with tow vehicles to take them between competitions, or engineering certificates for road use. Financing projects like that means having a job, not spending up on drugs and spending the weekend drinking in the garage while working on cars with mates (ok… or maybe at Hume testing the latest engine modification) instead of wandering around Civic late at night vomiting on the side-walk.

In my experience the wankers dragging at 100km an hour and doing burnouts through the suburbs don’t have any real interest in cars. They were wankers no matter what they were doing and not alot is going to change that.

dph said :

willo said :

dph said :

gazket said :

Both major parties promised and then reneged on building a motorsport park in Canberra.

Neither major party ‘promised’ anything of the sort.

yes they did…….try doing some research before mouthing off about something you obviously have no knowledge of

I have done my research & again, neither major part PROMISED anything of the sort.

Perhaps you should do some research before mouthing off about something you obviously have no knowledge of.

how silly of me not to recognize you as a troll immediately, now go away the adults are talking.

Jungle Jim said :

Additionally, I’ve got a classic muscle car that I’d love to let loose on the hill climb or quarter mile. If there was something local, I might just do that.

Just so you know, SDMA run a hill climb regularly at Sutton Road.

bundah said :

dph said :

willo said :

dph said :

gazket said :

Both major parties promised and then reneged on building a motorsport park in Canberra.

Neither major party ‘promised’ anything of the sort.

yes they did…….try doing some research before mouthing off about something you obviously have no knowledge of

I have done my research & again, neither major part PROMISED anything of the sort.

Perhaps you should do some research before mouthing off about something you obviously have no knowledge of.

As i recall some days before the 2004 election Stanhope issued a statement pledging $8m to construct a dragway in the ACT.The cynical among us believed that it was a ploy to secure votes from motorsport fans.At the time i strongly suspected he was aware that there was little chance the project was going to meet the criteria needed for construction so i believe it was essentially an exercise in vote grabbing.

Yes, Sonic did commit $8m in the budget for this purpose. He then used evey trick in the book to renege on spending the funds on the intended project.

He finally killed it by rewriting the noise limits, so that drag racing had to comply with the same dB readings as knitting to receive funding.

The $8m, (less a couple of hundred thou, for some reason) was quietly returned to consolidated revenue in the budget about 3 years later. No one picked up on it, so problem solved.

dph said :

willo said :

dph said :

gazket said :

Both major parties promised and then reneged on building a motorsport park in Canberra.

Neither major party ‘promised’ anything of the sort.

yes they did…….try doing some research before mouthing off about something you obviously have no knowledge of

I have done my research & again, neither major part PROMISED anything of the sort.

Perhaps you should do some research before mouthing off about something you obviously have no knowledge of.

As i recall some days before the 2004 election Stanhope issued a statement pledging $8m to construct a dragway in the ACT.The cynical among us believed that it was a ploy to secure votes from motorsport fans.At the time i strongly suspected he was aware that there was little chance the project was going to meet the criteria needed for construction so i believe it was essentially an exercise in vote grabbing.

willo said :

dph said :

gazket said :

Both major parties promised and then reneged on building a motorsport park in Canberra.

Neither major party ‘promised’ anything of the sort.

yes they did…….try doing some research before mouthing off about something you obviously have no knowledge of

I have done my research & again, neither major part PROMISED anything of the sort.

Perhaps you should do some research before mouthing off about something you obviously have no knowledge of.

Jim Jones said :

Mysteryman said :

A simple, “no, I have no evidence to back up my claim” would have sufficed.

Ah, but you don’t care about evidence or argument anyway, do you? It’s all about petty pointscoring.

If I thought there was even a slight chance that you had something intelligent behind your claim, I would be more than interested in hearing it. But you don’t.

Mysteryman said :

A simple, “no, I have no evidence to back up my claim” would have sufficed.

Ah, but you don’t care about evidence or argument anyway, do you? It’s all about petty pointscoring.

Jim Jones said :

This notion that ‘if we give people a dragstrip then the hoonery will decrease’ is based on an assumption that people indulging in hoonery just need to ‘get it out of their system’, which is complete unsubstantiated assumption.

I think you are all making some wrong assumptions. Controlling the hoonery actually comes from getting these young folk involved in sanctioned motorsports events, which is what we had back in the airport dragstrip days. Most folk who have actually been involved in motorsports will hold a CAMS license. If you were caught driving like a tosser on the roads, not only would Mr Plod kick your @rse, but CAMS would kick your butt and cancel your CAMS license. It was actually the possible loss of a CAMS license and exclusion from driving events (such as the drags, rallys etc) that was controlling the idiots back in the days of ACT motorsports.

Jim Jones said :

Mysteryman said :

And that assessment is based on what? Your in-depth research into the proposal? Or perhaps based on your expert understanding of the factors at work in anti-social driving behaviour?

“Utter bollocks” indeed.

What research do you have that indicates that providing motorsport facilities will see a reduction in street racing/burnouts/etc.?

There are areas for drag racing all around Sydney and there’s been no reduction in street drag racing. If anything, it’s been on the increase.

This notion that ‘if we give people a dragstrip then the hoonery will decrease’ is based on an assumption that people indulging in hoonery just need to ‘get it out of their system’, which is complete unsubstantiated assumption.

When I was young I loved skateboarding, and visited the local skate park. This didn’t stop me from skating in other areas (including some illegal venues), I didn’t ‘get it out of my system’; if anything, having a legitimate venue for the activity increased desire to conduct it in any and all venues. I daresay the same is the case for the dragsway.

This isn’t an argument against (or for) the introduction of a dragway in Canberra – but the argument that one needs to be built so that we can reduce street racing is utterly fallacious. The only good argument for building a dragway in Canberra is because people want it and will get enjoyment out of it (which seems like a pretty good argument to me, despite the fact that I hold a particularly low regard for people obsessed with cars).

A simple, “no, I have no evidence to back up my claim” would have sufficed.

Mysteryman said :

Yeah, because people die all the time at racetracks and drag strips elsewhere in the country…

A lot of people die on race tracks. Motorsports are dangerous.

The thing is, providing an outlet for these (predominantly) kids isn’t going to get them off the streets unless it’s

a) Accessible 24/7
b) Unregulated
c) Unsupervised
d) Free

For the government to provide something so inherently dangerous and irresponsible is just ludicrous.

I would wager that 90% of these kids wouldn’t be interested in serious, regulated racing. It’s not like they wear protective gear and employ race officials for their meets in the industrial or suburban or rural areas.

For the record, I am a supporter of having a drag strip and / or race track in the ACT. I’ve had great times watching the drags at Wakefield before and would love to see something closer to home. Additionally, I’ve got a classic muscle car that I’d love to let loose on the hill climb or quarter mile. If there was something local, I might just do that.

Something tells me that if these hoons had to pay for it, have their cars proven worthy and only participate during specified hours, there’s not much chance of reducing the illegal street racing and burnout gatherings.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Keijidosha said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

All a motor sport park would do is increase the amount of illegal behaviour when the scrotes are not aloud on the track because of dangerous driving or unroad worthy cars.

If that were true then it makes NSW Police and NRMA support of drag racing and burnouts at WSID twice a week seem pretty odd.

Have you been to a racetrack? Do you realise that if you have a car in poor condition or you refuse to follow rules you are not aloud on the track?

Yes I’m quite familiar with vehicle scrutineering and what is [b]allowed[/b] on track. Fact is that the police/RoadsACT judge the roadworthiness of a car on completely different rules to a track scrutineer(which is an entirely separate discussion.) The rules on a track are also a lot different to road rules and will accomodate many of the activities that quite rightly have no place on our streets.

The “scrotes” you refer to are the fraction of a percent of the driving community who will do what they want on the street regardless of what alternatives are offered. These people are like drink drivers, red light runners and habitual speeders – they will remain a menace for the police to stamp out.

Bottom line is that nobody should endorse illegal activities on the street. These drivers are dangerous and idiotic. However I believe that given reasonable access to a suitable facility, the majority of drivers who are guilty of the odd burnout or traffic light grand prix would take these activities off the street. As it stands these people currently have no legal outlet. This is not justification for illegal driving activities, but if you have drivers with high performance vehicles and nowhere but the streets to use them there is only going to be one outcome.

Bottom line is that a motorsport facility should be built foremost for enthusiasts, however if there was a net gain from making it accessible to those people with high performance cars and low performance brains then everybody wins. If the situation on our roads got worse, then simply close the doors of the facility to Kevin Commodore and we’re back where we are right now.

Jim Jones said :

“What, precisely, is this ‘driving aggression’ that people somehow accrue and need to ‘get out’ of their systems, and where do they get it from?

How is it that some people have this ‘driving aggression’ while the rest of the population is untouched by this sad affliction?

“Driving aggression” is completely innacurate way to describe the feeling some people get when behind the wheel. It is the same adrenalin rush anyone gets from doing something exciting (and slightly dangerous). Some get it from jumping out of a plane, others get it playing video games, and some of us get the same sensation from driving a car. Problem is that cars are readily accessible and driving is self-regulated, which means you get people without restraint doing idiotic things on the street.

Jungle Jim said :

Seriously, hasn’t anyone pushing the idea of an official venue for these activities even thought about the cost of insurance, liability, maintenance, supervision (to name a few)??

Within weeks of such a venue opening, I’d expect we’d be hearing one of the families of these hoons blaming the government, after the death or injury of their child, for providing a venue where people can “push the limits of their car” without adequate training or safety equipment (not to mention 24 hour supervision).

Maybe these ‘racers’ can pool their money together and rent some time at EPIC, using the same burnout pad as Summernats.

Why not just use http://www.suttonroad.com.au/hire.html, split the costs and enjoy close to Canberra.

“If young people had somewhere to get their driving aggression out in a controlled area once a week or fortnight they wouldn’t be burning out or racing out in Hume or in your local suburb”

What, precisely, is this ‘driving aggression’ that people somehow accrue and need to ‘get out’ of their systems, and where do they get it from?

How is it that some people have this ‘driving aggression’ while the rest of the population is untouched by this sad affliction?

Mysteryman said :

And that assessment is based on what? Your in-depth research into the proposal? Or perhaps based on your expert understanding of the factors at work in anti-social driving behaviour?

“Utter bollocks” indeed.

What research do you have that indicates that providing motorsport facilities will see a reduction in street racing/burnouts/etc.?

There are areas for drag racing all around Sydney and there’s been no reduction in street drag racing. If anything, it’s been on the increase.

This notion that ‘if we give people a dragstrip then the hoonery will decrease’ is based on an assumption that people indulging in hoonery just need to ‘get it out of their system’, which is complete unsubstantiated assumption.

When I was young I loved skateboarding, and visited the local skate park. This didn’t stop me from skating in other areas (including some illegal venues), I didn’t ‘get it out of my system’; if anything, having a legitimate venue for the activity increased desire to conduct it in any and all venues. I daresay the same is the case for the dragsway.

This isn’t an argument against (or for) the introduction of a dragway in Canberra – but the argument that one needs to be built so that we can reduce street racing is utterly fallacious. The only good argument for building a dragway in Canberra is because people want it and will get enjoyment out of it (which seems like a pretty good argument to me, despite the fact that I hold a particularly low regard for people obsessed with cars).

Keijidosha said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

All a motor sport park would do is increase the amount of illegal behaviour when the scrotes are not aloud on the track because of dangerous driving or unroad worthy cars.

If that were true then it makes NSW Police and NRMA support of drag racing and burnouts at WSID twice a week seem pretty odd.

Have you been to a racetrack? Do you realise that if you have a car in poor condition or you refuse to follow rules you are not aloud on the track?

Jim Jones said :

gazket said :

These young kids can probably drive and pay more attention to the road than most of the pubes that come here and call them criminals.

gazket said :

Then why are they getting arrested on dangerous driving charges?

gazket said :

If young people had somewhere to get their driving aggression out in a controlled area once a week or fortnight they wouldn’t be burning out or racing out in Hume or in your local suburb.

Utter bollocks. If anything, it would see an increase of these activities.

And that assessment is based on what? Your in-depth research into the proposal? Or perhaps based on your expert understanding of the factors at work in anti-social driving behaviour?

“Utter bollocks” indeed.

gazket said :

These young kids can probably drive and pay more attention to the road than most of the pubes that come here and call them criminals.

gazket said :

Then why are they getting arrested on dangerous driving charges?

gazket said :

If young people had somewhere to get their driving aggression out in a controlled area once a week or fortnight they wouldn’t be burning out or racing out in Hume or in your local suburb.

Utter bollocks. If anything, it would see an increase of these activities.

I love that people complain about about these idiots drag racing then turn around and say that providing a facility for drag racing is a bad idea. All youre doing is showing your wowser prejudices. Personally I’m not a fan of drag racing, however young blokes and some girls do like it. And in Canberra the govt shut down the only facility for drag racing so surprise surprise it’s happening on the streets. But for people to compare the opening of a drag strip to opening a stadium for perverts is simply idiotic.

Jungle Jim said :

Seriously, hasn’t anyone pushing the idea of an official venue for these activities even thought about the cost of insurance, liability, maintenance, supervision (to name a few)??

Within weeks of such a venue opening, I’d expect we’d be hearing one of the families of these hoons blaming the government, after the death or injury of their child, for providing a venue where people can “push the limits of their car” without adequate training or safety equipment (not to mention 24 hour supervision).

Maybe these ‘racers’ can pool their money together and rent some time at EPIC, using the same burnout pad as Summernats.

Yeah, because people die all the time at racetracks and drag strips elsewhere in the country…

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

All a motor sport park would do is increase the amount of illegal behaviour when the scrotes are not aloud on the track because of dangerous driving or unroad worthy cars.

If that were true then it makes NSW Police and NRMA support of drag racing and burnouts at WSID twice a week seem pretty odd.

Seriously, hasn’t anyone pushing the idea of an official venue for these activities even thought about the cost of insurance, liability, maintenance, supervision (to name a few)??

Within weeks of such a venue opening, I’d expect we’d be hearing one of the families of these hoons blaming the government, after the death or injury of their child, for providing a venue where people can “push the limits of their car” without adequate training or safety equipment (not to mention 24 hour supervision).

Maybe these ‘racers’ can pool their money together and rent some time at EPIC, using the same burnout pad as Summernats.

gazket said :

These young kids can probably drive and pay more attention to the road than most of the pubes that come here and call them criminals. Both major parties promised and then reneged on building a motorsport park in Canberra. Seems they would rather put the public in danger and hand out petty fines. If young people had somewhere to get their driving aggression out in a controlled area once a week or fortnight they wouldn’t be burning out or racing out in Hume or in your local suburb.

A motorsport park is not just for hoons, It could also be used for schools in driver training teaching kids what a car can and can’t do and keep your kids and their friends safe on the roads.

So it’s the politicians fault for not building a huge waste of money and the polices fault for cracking down on illegal activities? Grow up.
All a motor sport park would do is increase the amount of illegal behaviour when the scrotes are not aloud on the track because of dangerous driving or unroad worthy cars.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-10-05/stefaniak-vows-to-approve-dragway/1279138

dph said :

gazket said :

Both major parties promised and then reneged on building a motorsport park in Canberra.

Neither major party ‘promised’ anything of the sort.

yes they did…….try doing some research before mouthing off about something you obviously have no knowledge of

gazket said :

Both major parties promised and then reneged on building a motorsport park in Canberra.

Neither major party ‘promised’ anything of the sort.

Johnny_Moe said :

overnight parts from japan.

You can have any brew you want… As long as it’s a Corona.

LSWCHP said :

Sergeant Mark Steel, hey? Surely that’s a stage name,

Not at all. He’s quite accomplished at Chun Kuk Do too.

overnight parts from japan.

LSWCHP said :

Sergeant Mark Steel, hey? Surely that’s a stage name, or a pornstar name, or something. Next we’ll have constables Lance Fury and Chance Thunder giving us the word.

Whatever the case, I know I’d much rather be busted by Kylie “Collie” Flower than Mark Steel.

Not as good as Superintendent Paul Shakeshaft we had recently. But notable, yes.

These young kids can probably drive and pay more attention to the road than most of the pubes that come here and call them criminals. Both major parties promised and then reneged on building a motorsport park in Canberra. Seems they would rather put the public in danger and hand out petty fines. If young people had somewhere to get their driving aggression out in a controlled area once a week or fortnight they wouldn’t be burning out or racing out in Hume or in your local suburb.

A motorsport park is not just for hoons, It could also be used for schools in driver training teaching kids what a car can and can’t do and keep your kids and their friends safe on the roads.

Sergeant Mark Steel, hey? Surely that’s a stage name, or a pornstar name, or something. Next we’ll have constables Lance Fury and Chance Thunder giving us the word.

Whatever the case, I know I’d much rather be busted by Kylie “Collie” Flower than Mark Steel.

1337Hax0r said :

rosscoact said :

Reading the police site there seems to be a fair demand for venues to do lots of sorts of criminal activity.

I’m not sure that a sradium for perverts, thugs and thieves is on the cards either.

I suppose if the motorist’s party gets into power things may be different

You sir have a point and come across as the most sensible post so far. Even with the spelling error.

milkman said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Keijidosha said :

rosscoact said :

I obviously need to make my position clearer.

The people that the police arrest are not motor racing fans. They are idiots with weapons they don’t know how to use properly and who all too often kill innocent people when they lose control of those weapons.

As such they are criminals and should be treated the same way.

When a wife beater is arrested do we cry for mixed cage fights so they can have an outlet? No, because that would be as ridiculous as calling for a motorsport venue to deal with dangerous driving.

Your comparison is absurdly irrelevant, but it is worth considering that a wife beater could easily join any gym and legally unleash their violent tendencies on a punching bag or sparring partner rather than their wife.

Nobody would be foolish enough to claim that domestic violence could be irradicated by open access to gyms, and by the same token there’s no way that a motorsport facility in the ACT would nullify illegal driving on the streets. However what such a facility would do is provide a safe and legal alternative for all drivers to push the limits of their vehicles – if that encouraged the small number of people driving like clowns to take it off the streets, then so much the better. If these drivers continue to participate in illegal and dangerous activities, crush their cars and throw the book at them.

The other upshot of a motorsport facility would be encouraging (or making it mandatory for) drivers to use it to improve their driving skills – and very few people could argue that upskilling Canberra drivers is a bad idea!

No motor enthusiast does this sort of dumb behaviour. Only idiotic children and retarded bogans. Motor enthusiasts go to Sydney to mess around in cars, not use public streets.

Real enthusiasts take it to the track or the strip, not the street.

Both of the above posts refer to the availability of venues. What other recreational pursuit requires the participants to travel to Sydney (or Goulburn) to engage their interest? And this group, as previously noted, gave almost 5%, or 1/20th, of the vote to a low profile party with no history at the last election!

It’s time the major parties made their policies regarding motor sport and curtailing on-road misbehaviour public knowledge!

Wakefield Park, 90km away, has street cars only on Tuesdays. If the boy racers won’t take a day off and go hell for leather round a dedicated venue then they deserve all the fines and vehicle confiscations they get. Perhaps Wakefield Park and plod need to do a bit more advertising.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Keijidosha said :

rosscoact said :

I obviously need to make my position clearer.

The people that the police arrest are not motor racing fans. They are idiots with weapons they don’t know how to use properly and who all too often kill innocent people when they lose control of those weapons.

As such they are criminals and should be treated the same way.

When a wife beater is arrested do we cry for mixed cage fights so they can have an outlet? No, because that would be as ridiculous as calling for a motorsport venue to deal with dangerous driving.

Your comparison is absurdly irrelevant, but it is worth considering that a wife beater could easily join any gym and legally unleash their violent tendencies on a punching bag or sparring partner rather than their wife.

Nobody would be foolish enough to claim that domestic violence could be irradicated by open access to gyms, and by the same token there’s no way that a motorsport facility in the ACT would nullify illegal driving on the streets. However what such a facility would do is provide a safe and legal alternative for all drivers to push the limits of their vehicles – if that encouraged the small number of people driving like clowns to take it off the streets, then so much the better. If these drivers continue to participate in illegal and dangerous activities, crush their cars and throw the book at them.

The other upshot of a motorsport facility would be encouraging (or making it mandatory for) drivers to use it to improve their driving skills – and very few people could argue that upskilling Canberra drivers is a bad idea!

No motor enthusiast does this sort of dumb behaviour. Only idiotic children and retarded bogans. Motor enthusiasts go to Sydney to mess around in cars, not use public streets.

Real enthusiasts take it to the track or the strip, not the street.

rosscoact said :

Reading the police site there seems to be a fair demand for venues to do lots of sorts of criminal activity.

I’m not sure that a sradium for perverts, thugs and thieves is on the cards either.

I suppose if the motorist’s party gets into power things may be different

You sir have a point and come across as the most sensible post so far. Even with the spelling error.

Keijidosha said :

rosscoact said :

I obviously need to make my position clearer.

The people that the police arrest are not motor racing fans. They are idiots with weapons they don’t know how to use properly and who all too often kill innocent people when they lose control of those weapons.

As such they are criminals and should be treated the same way.

When a wife beater is arrested do we cry for mixed cage fights so they can have an outlet? No, because that would be as ridiculous as calling for a motorsport venue to deal with dangerous driving.

Your comparison is absurdly irrelevant, but it is worth considering that a wife beater could easily join any gym and legally unleash their violent tendencies on a punching bag or sparring partner rather than their wife.

Nobody would be foolish enough to claim that domestic violence could be irradicated by open access to gyms, and by the same token there’s no way that a motorsport facility in the ACT would nullify illegal driving on the streets. However what such a facility would do is provide a safe and legal alternative for all drivers to push the limits of their vehicles – if that encouraged the small number of people driving like clowns to take it off the streets, then so much the better. If these drivers continue to participate in illegal and dangerous activities, crush their cars and throw the book at them.

The other upshot of a motorsport facility would be encouraging (or making it mandatory for) drivers to use it to improve their driving skills – and very few people could argue that upskilling Canberra drivers is a bad idea!

No motor enthusiast does this sort of dumb behaviour. Only idiotic children and retarded bogans. Motor enthusiasts go to Sydney to mess around in cars, not use public streets.

what_the said :

rosscoact said :

Reading the police site there seems to be a fair demand for venues to do lots of sorts of criminal activity.

I’m not sure that a sradium for perverts, thugs and thieves is on the cards either.

I suppose if the motorist’s party gets into power things may be different

You sir, are an idiot. By the way, what is a sradium?

Calling somebody a idiot because they make a incredibly good point, then trying to be a spelling nazi on a obv typo and then making no counter point shows a incredible lack of wits.

rosscoact said :

I obviously need to make my position clearer.

The people that the police arrest are not motor racing fans. They are idiots with weapons they don’t know how to use properly and who all too often kill innocent people when they lose control of those weapons.

As such they are criminals and should be treated the same way.

When a wife beater is arrested do we cry for mixed cage fights so they can have an outlet? No, because that would be as ridiculous as calling for a motorsport venue to deal with dangerous driving.

Your comparison is absurdly irrelevant, but it is worth considering that a wife beater could easily join any gym and legally unleash their violent tendencies on a punching bag or sparring partner rather than their wife.

Nobody would be foolish enough to claim that domestic violence could be irradicated by open access to gyms, and by the same token there’s no way that a motorsport facility in the ACT would nullify illegal driving on the streets. However what such a facility would do is provide a safe and legal alternative for all drivers to push the limits of their vehicles – if that encouraged the small number of people driving like clowns to take it off the streets, then so much the better. If these drivers continue to participate in illegal and dangerous activities, crush their cars and throw the book at them.

The other upshot of a motorsport facility would be encouraging (or making it mandatory for) drivers to use it to improve their driving skills – and very few people could argue that upskilling Canberra drivers is a bad idea!

In keeping with the ‘harm minimisation’ mantra that gets pushed a lot, I think finding somewhere for the ratbags to go is a pretty good idea.

buzz819 said :

Seems to be a lot more drink drivers around, how about we give them a race track as well?

Actually, that is a pretty good idea. I’m picturing a cross between calls to crush drunk drivers vehicles, and the movie Death Race.

I obviously need to make my position clearer.

The people that the police arrest are not motor racing fans. They are idiots with weapons they don’t know how to use properly and who all too often kill innocent people when they lose control of those weapons.

As such they are criminals and should be treated the same way.

When a wife beater is arrested do we cry for mixed cage fights so they can have an outlet? No, because that would be as ridiculous as calling for a motorsport venue to deal with dangerous driving.

Deref said :

cranky said :

There appears to be a demand for a venue for this type of motoring activity.

Undoubtedly.

But why should the rest of us pay for it? If there was demand, wouldn’t it be a commercial operation?

Because the government is tasked with spending money on venues and facilities for the use of the public, even when there is only demand by small segments of the population. See: public art, bike lanes, arboretum, swimming pools, parks, centenary walking trails, etc.

It’s not a difficult concept to understand.

rosscoact said :

Reading the police site there seems to be a fair demand for venues to do lots of sorts of criminal activity.

I’m not sure that a sradium for perverts, thugs and thieves is on the cards either.

I suppose if the motorist’s party gets into power things may be different

Seems to be a lot more drink drivers around, how about we give them a race track as well?

Great to see 30 defective vehicles taken off the road. Given the Government dropped annual vehicle inspections more needs to be done to collar neglected and illegally modified vehicles. Would be good to see the Random Vehicle Inspectors have a higher presence.

I do agree with cranky on the need for a suitable motorsport venue in Canberra, however to call those who participate in illegal burnouts and street racing “motorsport enthusiasts” is inaccurate and only opens the door to absurd comments like those from rosscoact.

The ACT needs a motorsport venue first and foremost as a safe and legal place for enthusiasts to indulge their passion. If supported by the Police and Government it could also be used to encourage the small minority of people participating in illegal activities on the road to keep it off the streets.

cranky said :

There appears to be a demand for a venue for this type of motoring activity.

Undoubtedly.

But why should the rest of us pay for it? If there was demand, wouldn’t it be a commercial operation?

rosscoact said :

Reading the police site there seems to be a fair demand for venues to do lots of sorts of criminal activity.

I’m not sure that a sradium for perverts, thugs and thieves is on the cards either.

The difference being that motorsports performed at a purpose built facility are not illegal. Trying to draw some sort of parallel between people who want to enjoy a legitimate hobby and perverts is quite offensive.

That said, I don’t know how many of these people out at Hume are genuine motorsport fans. It’s probably that Rush Hour crowd, who are nothing more than bogans in crappy cars doing stupid things.

And you sir are quite rude, but thanks for the input.

A sradium is what one types without glasses when trying to type stadium

what_the said :

rosscoact said :

Reading the police site there seems to be a fair demand for venues to do lots of sorts of criminal activity.

I’m not sure that a sradium for perverts, thugs and thieves is on the cards either.

I suppose if the motorist’s party gets into power things may be different

You sir, are an idiot. By the way, what is a sradium?

rosscoact said :

Reading the police site there seems to be a fair demand for venues to do lots of sorts of criminal activity.

I’m not sure that a sradium for perverts, thugs and thieves is on the cards either.

I suppose if the motorist’s party gets into power things may be different

You sir, are an idiot. By the way, what is a sradium?

Reading the police site there seems to be a fair demand for venues to do lots of sorts of criminal activity.

I’m not sure that a sradium for perverts, thugs and thieves is on the cards either.

I suppose if the motorist’s party gets into power things may be different

There appears to be a demand for a venue for this type of motoring activity.

Govco have stuck their fingers in their ears, and in Burch fashion are running around going “La, La, La,”, totally avoiding any recognition of the wants of a portion of the populace for a suitable venue.

Motorsport enthusiasts have been denied any Gov support for the years of the Labor government. Summernats has nothing to do with motorsport.

What other sporting interest is required to travel about 100k’s to persue their interest? Even the ice skaters are able to participate on an ice rink built in the center of Civic. I have no problems with ice skaters (they appear quite attractive), but I’m fairly sure they are not a large voting bloc.

A group who achieved a vote approaching 5% at the last ACT election is totally ignored by our political masters.

Perhaps a concerted, targetted effort by interested parties to harness the votes of this disenfranchised group could conceivably affect the forthcoming ACT election, to the disadvantage of our current rulers.