If you build it, they will come — that's the mantra two Gold Coast residents are suggesting as a solution to the region's increasing problem of hooning in their suburbs.
Software developer Michael Malone has set up a Queensland Parliament e-petition, asking the State Government to crack down hard on hoons.
However, Mr Malone said a purpose-built drifting facility and race track on the Gold Coast could provide an outlet for those young drivers wanting to improve their skills.
"It takes a lot of talent and a lot of proficiency to do well," he said.
"Go to the track and do something that does take some talent and learn a skill."
Mr Malone was worried the constant public display of drifting on public roads would filter down to the younger residents of the suburbs.
"We're going to have young teenagers with no driving experience, getting a hold of a high-powered vehicle and they're going to become a danger to themselves and the community," he said.
"They're also a danger to the young people that they can recruit in to this behaviour."
What is drifting?
Drifting is one element of hooning, and is a technique where drivers oversteer their car, deliberately losing traction, while going around a corner.
New Zealand-born Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen is one of many race car drivers who are skilled in drifting.
Professional events are done in a controlled environment at a racetrack or a closed road. However, the technique is also popular in the street scene.
Mr Malone said hooning had been increasing over the past few years, and was causing some sleepless nights for many residents.
"It comes to you in the middle of the night when somebody goes screaming down the road with screeching tyres and wakes you up," he said.
"You got kids all over the road, you got kids everywhere … these hoons put them in danger."
Possible solution
A local group called Legal Drifting Australia has set up another petition, calling for a dedicated facility on the Gold Coast.
Founder Michael Chipperfield said a drifting track with family-friendly facilities would decrease the number of illegal hoons on local streets.
The nearest tracks are the Queensland Raceway near Ipswich and at Archerfield.
"We want somewhere legal to test, slide and drift our cars so we don't end up on the streets doing it," he said.
Mr Chipperfield called on the Gold Coast community to get behind the project to keep local streets safer.
"What I want to say to people who are lobbying against it is get behind a decent venue to get these people off the streets," he said.
