Queensland looks to crack down on 4WD hoons in popular national parks

Regulatory changes are connected the docket for the Queensland Government arsenic it looks to trim the biology impacts of visitors and their four-wheel-drive vehicles successful its nationalist parks.

The Queensland Government commissioned Sustainable Visitor Capacity Management (SVCM) studies from consultants for 3 nationalist parks, and this week released documents containing these findings and the state’s projected actions.

You tin view these reports here.

Consultants were commissioned to analyse Bribie Island, Cooloola, and K’gari (Fraser Island) recreation areas successful the state’s southbound east, which were identified arsenic 3 of Queensland’s astir fashionable destinations for time and overnight visitors.

The 3 areas pull much than 23,000 vehicles and tally much than 592,000 camper nights (i.e. the fig of campers times the fig of nights camped) each year, and the reports identified a interest that, successful particular, determination were excessively galore vehicles contiguous astatine highest times.

The reports suggested that visitant and conveyance capableness limits were to beryllium considered and enforced, on with the sustainable absorption of infrastructure and visitant behaviour.

For example, the consultants recommended existent velocity bounds compliance arsenic an ongoing priority, arsenic velocity was identified arsenic a information interest successful stakeholder surveys.

They besides recommended that unnecessary night-time driving connected the areas’ beaches were minimised to support wildlife movements.

The Government says it’s already moving with enforcement agencies to code “unsafe and unsocial behaviours related to vehicles and driving”.

Enforcement of specified behaviours was recommended successful the signifier of “appropriate penalties which incentivise compliance”, which received “strong support” during the consultants’ studies.

These penalties could income treble demerit points, bans connected repetition offenders, and “empowering conveyance seizures and impoundments”.

“At present, galore of the behaviour problems experienced are attributed to younger property groups, including P-plate drivers. Focusing regulations to this property radical seems a applicable solution but it does rise valid societal concerns,” the Bribie Island study stated.

“An enactment to see is the interaction of compliance measures that use to each visitors but would person a peculiar interaction connected this visitant demographic – for instance, applying treble demerit points to driving offences connected the beach.”

In effect to the consultants’ recommendations, the Queensland Government mostly committed to “working cooperatively” and “consulting with different authorities agencies astir improving visitant behaviour”, endorsing astir of the recommendations successful each 3 reports.

It did, however, cull abstracted recommendations to summation fees and supply a shuttle autobus for visitors to trim the fig of vehicles astatine highest times.

The Government is presently evaluating methods to modulate conveyance numbers connected the busiest days of the year, portion besides enforcing fig sheet designation systems for Vehicle Access Permits with a “dedicated team”.