Hoon

A hoon (/hn/ ) is an Australian and New Zealand term describing a person who deliberately drives a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner, generally in order to provoke a reaction from onlookers.

Hoon activities (or hooning) can include speeding, burnouts, doughnuts, or screeching tyres.[1] Those commonly identified as being involved in hooning are young and predominantly male drivers in the age range of 17 to 25 years.[2]

Hooning is also sometimes used in the context of other activities involving high speeds such as skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, etc, in reference to young people going irresponsibly fast and endangering others.

Hoon control laws are beginning to be extended to dangerous hoon behaviour using boats and other vessels, particularly jet skis. The Australian state of Victoria passed legislation in late 2009 to control hoon activities using recreational vessels.[3]

  1. ^ Hoon Driving, Darebin City Council, 7 August 2008.
  2. ^ Armstrong, Kerry; Steinhardt, Dale: Understanding 'hoon' culture: An exploratory investigation of perceptions and experiences, 2006. Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (Queensland University of Technology).
  3. ^ See the Transport Legislation Amendment (Hoon Boating and Other Amendments) Act 2009.