Mount Gambier councillor calls for Autofest return as city struggles with hoons

Mount Gambier councillor calls for Autofest return as city struggles with hoons

The success of motoring festivals getting hoons off the streets is fuelling interest in reviving an annual event on South Australia's Limestone Coast.

Key points:

A video of dangerous driving in Millicent sparked renewed interest in Autofest's return

Police say they receive regular reports of dangerous driving

Autofest's organiser says he receives reports the event has reduced hooning in other host locations

City of Mount Gambier councillor Jason Virgo has called for the return of the Autofest Performance Car Festival, which was last held at the city's showgrounds in 2018.

The event was cancelled due to concerns about smoke and noise and an inability to find another suitable venue.

The renewed interest comes after the arrest of an 18-year-old Millicent man this week in relation to online video footage of a burnout along the town's main street.

Mr Virgo said the event would be a "carrot" to curb hoon driving, with the state government providing the "stick", such as legal penalties and crushing cars.

"I think it's important that we offer a safer alternative for people than hooning on the road," he said.

"Perhaps we'll get a place where they can go and enjoy their motorsport without endangering lives."

Idiotic behaviour' rampant
Limestone Coast police officer Campbell Hill said dangerous driving was a community issue, with "quite a few reports" coming in to police.

There are people out there performing this idiotic behaviour at times," Superintendent Hill said.

"But the reality is that there's plenty of police officers that are very motivated with our current state of lives lost on our roads to get ahead of it take these people off the road."

Mr Virgo said he lived near a busy road and heard dangerous drivers passing "all the time".

"I think if we have an Autofest in Mount Gambier, it's not going to make the situation worse," he said.

"I can only see that it will actually offer an alternative, a safer place for people to do these activities off our roads, and that can only be a good thing."

A chance to show off
Autofest Australia runs events in regional towns in SA, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, with burnout competitions and show and shines a regular part of the festivals.

Operations manager Les Adams said he has received anecdotal reports from police of a reduction in hoon driving at many of the host locations.

"We're about to do an event up in Far North Queensland near Cairns ... the police told us last year when we ran that event that they could see a dramatic reduction just in our first year there, and Bathurst was the same thing," he said.

"Over the years wherever we've gone ... the authorities tell us thanks for that and they back us everywhere we go.

"Anything that can fix that problem is a right step forward.

"We would look at maybe coming back if we had the community and council support."

Mr Adams said the event gave participants a chance to "show off in front of a crowd".

"Rather than just them and a few of their mates in the back roads or streets around town, all of a sudden they have an audience ... and we've had attendances up to 60,000-odd people watching them," he said.

Supt Hill said he was unsure if the return of the event would have an impact.

"We wouldn't be able to make that assessment until an event was held and we can then assess it," he said.

"We know anecdotally that there is still poor behaviour that occurs on the back [of these events].

"There are still immature people or idiots that are inspired by the motor racing that they're attending to then drive away and drive poorly and drive dangerously when leaving the event."