By Kath Gannaway
VAL Owen and Des Harry are just two of a growing number of Healesville residents calling for a stop to hoon behaviour on local roads.
The recent deaths of four young people on Yarra Ranges roads has raised awareness of a problem they say has been a plague around Healesville streets for several years and one which is getting worse.
They are calling for a public meeting to gauge the extent of the problem, the way it is affecting people’s lives and solutions, including whether there is a need for more police presence in the town.
It’s a suggestion they say fits very firmly into a call by Yarra Ranges District Inspector Mick Beattie last week for the community to help stop the mounting carnage on Yarra Ranges roads.
Identifying the behaviour of drivers, and what he called a major attitudinal problem in young drivers, as the biggest community safety issue in the region, Insp Beattie encouraged communities to express their outrage.
Ms Owen is certainly outraged by the hooning behaviour of young drivers who she says have put her on an almost daily knifeedge.
But she is also outraged by what she claims is a lack of police presence in Healesville which allows the behaviour to continue.
She says despite a twoandahalfyear campaign involving writing letters to all levels of police from the local police to the Minister, local politicians and VicRoads, the problem is worse than it has ever been.
“Every road in Healesville and 90 per cent of intersection roads have burnout marks.
“Two doors up from me a motorbike came over the fence.
“I had a car come down my driveway and wipe out my letter box,” she said.
“It starts about 6.30 (pm) and it’s open slather.”
As a regular driver in the town, Mr Harry has similar horror stories to tell of near misses, and, like Ms Owen, he says it’s time to take action.
“Every weekend all we hear is speeding cars shooting up and down Don Road and off the side streets which become a raceway.”
Mr Harry said there are people in his street who are afraid to let their children play in their front yards because they are afraid a car will go out of control.
“It’s like we have this endemic thing and you come into Healesville and it gets worse,” Ms Owen said.
“I think if we are going to address this problem it needs to be tackled as a community issue.
“Maybe people need to take registration numbers, ring 000 and be committed to following through.
“The question I want to ask is, as a community are we going to do something, are we prepared to say to these kids you have a great responsibility that comes with those keys and, whether you like it or not, we will protect you and we will protect our community.”
