mod5
22-12-2009, 09:11 AM
Water Police get power to confiscate boats
December 22, 2009 07:16am
FIRST it was hoon drivers that had their cars confiscated. Now, hoons in boats can be forced off the water.
In an Australian first, hoon boating laws introduced in Victoria this week give Water Police powers to keep dangerous boaters high and dry on land and ban their vessels for 48 hours.
As the summer holidays start, Water Police will patrol popular holiday destinations to make sure people were boating safely, Water Police Acting Senior Sergeant Andrew Gardner said.
Those areas included Geelong, Lake Eildon, East Gippsland, Wilsons Promontory, Western Port Bay, Queenscliff and Chelsea.
"The hoon road laws have seen police crack down on dangerous behaviour on our streets and now we are taking these messages to the water", Acting Snr Sgt Gardner said.
"We have found hoon behaviour in our bays and inland waterways to be a growing problem, with a small minority of people putting the wider community at risk."
Police will be able to place an embargo notice on a boat, ordering that it not be operated for a specified period, or that the offender not operate it.
Boat operators must obey laws regarding speed, the distance they must keep from swimmers and other craft, and having a blood alcohol level below .05 or zero for those aged under 21.
Other laws include requirements to carry personal flotation devices or life jackets, flares, two-way radios and fire extinguishers.
People should report to police if they saw hoon boaters behaving dangerously, Acting Snr Sgt Gardner said.
December 22, 2009 07:16am
FIRST it was hoon drivers that had their cars confiscated. Now, hoons in boats can be forced off the water.
In an Australian first, hoon boating laws introduced in Victoria this week give Water Police powers to keep dangerous boaters high and dry on land and ban their vessels for 48 hours.
As the summer holidays start, Water Police will patrol popular holiday destinations to make sure people were boating safely, Water Police Acting Senior Sergeant Andrew Gardner said.
Those areas included Geelong, Lake Eildon, East Gippsland, Wilsons Promontory, Western Port Bay, Queenscliff and Chelsea.
"The hoon road laws have seen police crack down on dangerous behaviour on our streets and now we are taking these messages to the water", Acting Snr Sgt Gardner said.
"We have found hoon behaviour in our bays and inland waterways to be a growing problem, with a small minority of people putting the wider community at risk."
Police will be able to place an embargo notice on a boat, ordering that it not be operated for a specified period, or that the offender not operate it.
Boat operators must obey laws regarding speed, the distance they must keep from swimmers and other craft, and having a blood alcohol level below .05 or zero for those aged under 21.
Other laws include requirements to carry personal flotation devices or life jackets, flares, two-way radios and fire extinguishers.
People should report to police if they saw hoon boaters behaving dangerously, Acting Snr Sgt Gardner said.