Police will step up their blitz on hooning on the “sand highway” to the north of Noosa over the summer.
Thousands of four-wheel-driving enthusiasts head to the Cooloola Recreation Area between Noosa Heads and Rainbow Beach each year.
It is a popular and spectacular location for adventure as the wilderness area is flanked by open surf beaches, towering coastal cliffs and coloured sands.
However, as reported in Sunshine Coast News, calls have intensified to better protect the unique pristine environment from the annual impact of more than 110,00 4WDs.
While the majority of visitors do the right thing, hoons have become a growing concern to public safety.
There have been a rising number of incidents of dangerous driving, two separate fatalities on the beach at Teewah and K’gari/Fraser Island, and the launch of a petition to stop P-plate drivers accessing the beach.
Some regular visitors have vowed not to return while the situation continues.
The Queensland Police Service has confirmed Operation Sand Strike would be in full swing through the summer season that takes in the popular Christmas-New Year break and Queensland school holidays.
A spokesperson said 109 Traffic Infringement Notices (TINs) had been issued to date in the joint Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Queensland Police Service enforcement operations to ensure the safety of campers and visitors to the Cooloola Coast.
The TINs mainly related to speed, not wearing seatbelts and defective vehicles.
The spokesperson said the most serious breach had been a mid-range drinking driver (with a blood-alcohol concentration between 0.10 and 0.15%), allegedly fishtailing on the beach with his seven-year-old son in the vehicle with him.
No warnings had been given, as police took a zero tolerance approach, they said.
“Driver behaviour remains consistent, with no obvious increase in offences being detected,”the spokesperson said.
“However, it can only take one weekend to dramatically change this.
“Disappointingly, P-plate drivers are over-represented in this type of driving.”
Concerns about dangerous driving and traffic infringements that have resulted from increasing numbers of day trippers and campers to areas including Cooloola prompted Brisbane’s Simon McDonald to start a petition last year on change.org to limit all beach driving in Queensland to open licence holders.
To date, more than 4500 people have signed the petition. Mr McDonald is seeking 5000 signatures.
- Related article: Beach playground ‘pummelled to near-death’ by 111,000 4WDs
The petition milestone comes as the Sunshine Coast News revealed that so far in 2021, more than 111,000 four-wheel drive permits had been issued for the Cooloola Recreation Area (part of the Great Sandy National Park) — an increase of 22 per cent on 2020, even before the peak summer holiday season.
The number of camping permits in 2021 has risen to 42,534, an increase of five per cent on last year (although 2020 had a temporary closure).
In the petition description, Mr McDonald wrote that P-plate drivers would ruin the ability for future generations to go four-wheel-driving in areas including Teewah Beach and Fraser island, because of the hooning behaviour that had resulted in fatalities in the past.
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“These drivers think they are invincible, and have the ‘it won’t happen to me mentality’. Unfortunately, when they are driving like this, they are not only risking the lives of themselves, but the lives of every other beachgoer, including our children!
“For those of us who do the right thing, losing the ability to be able to enjoy a weekend on the beach with our families will be an absolute tragedy.
“It is evident that something needs to be done to stop these hoons; however, if suggestions aren’t made to local authorities, then this behaviour will get all vehicles banned from the beach.
“For this reason, I am proposing that all Provisional Licence Holders be banned from driving on the beach. Their lack of driving experience, mentality and respect for the law are the reasons why we will all be banned.”
Most of those who put their name to the petition stated their reasons for signing as concerns for the environment and the safety of other beach users, especially young children.
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