Jaws of Life to be used on hoon vehicles

SES and CFA members will use the Jaws of Life on forfeited hoon cars to train for road accident rescues, Minister for Police and Emergency Services Kim Wells announced today.

Mr Wells said forfeited hoon cars would be donated to the CFA and SES to enhance the training of its members in the use of specialist equipment used in road rescue.

“For the first time, SES volunteers will have access to an ongoing supply of cars that can be used to simulate the rescue of a person trapped in a car,” Mr Wells said.

“Previously the SES had to rely on donations from wreckers and community donations and while gratefully received, these vehicles are not always representative of the more modern types of vehicles that are encountered by Road Rescue.”

Mr Wells said Victoria Police will now begin donating forfeited or abandoned vehicles to the SES and increase the number of cars donated to CFA over the coming months until both emergency services organisations will begin regularly receiving forfeited vehicles for training purposes.

“The Victorian Coalition Government and Victoria Police have made a commitment to creating a safer road system in Victoria and we see the removal of these hoon cars from our roads for practical training for our SES and CFA members as a fantastic opportunity,” Mr Wells said.

“This partnership is a practical way to assist the SES and CFA and provides equipment to better train their volunteers, which will increase their confidence and capability in dealing with a real life situation they may face in the future.”

Victoria SES is the largest road rescue service in Victoria with 102 road crash units across the state.

“SES attends up to 1,200 road rescues each year so these vehicles will provide SES members with real-life experience in freeing people trapped in vehicles,” Mr Wells said.

“Both CFA and SES need to take vehicles apart in order to conduct training and skills maintenance and, until now, did not have enough vehicles for their training needs.”

Hoons who refuse to pay their fines and impoundment costs at the expiry of the impoundment period will have their vehicle deemed abandoned and it will become the property of Victoria Police.

The Road Safety Act 1986 gives the Chief Commissioner of Police the authority to sell, by public auction or tender, or otherwise dispose of a motor vehicle that is the subject of a forfeiture order.

Victoria’s 2012 road toll of 282 was the lowest on record but Mr Wells said that one death on our roads was one death too many.

“The Coalition Government will continue its work to drive down the road toll through its new 10-year road safety strategy for Victoria,” Mr Wells said.

“We will continue to support police to target those drivers who engage in antisocial and illegal driving behaviour to reduce Victoria’s road toll even further.”

Vehicles used for training will be disposed of sustainably.