A TOURIST has vowed not to return to Junee until such time as the local hoons have been stopped by police.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a letter to the editor, Tony Clark from Victoria labels traffic policing in Junee a "joke".
He witnessed numerous driving offences including children riding bikes without helmets, motorists speeding, using mobile phones while driving and not giving way at intersections.
"I was about 150 metres from where some hoon on a motorbike came off in one of your main streets, luckily not closer with our four young kids to get hurt," Mr Clark said.
"After eight-odd visits I now think Junee is no longer a safe place to visit and will not be recommending the area to other tourists until this hooning is stamped on."
Mr Clark claimed he saw police only twice and questioned what they were doing about enforcement.
"If traffic policing in Junee is a joke, then there are many people who aren't laughing," acting Sergeant Andrew Henderson said.
Sergeant Henderson said in the last two months six people had been detected driving under the influence.
"A further 10 charges have been laid against people for traffic offences such as drive while disqualified, drive while suspended, drive under the influence of a drug and burnouts.
“There are also currently nine further traffic incidents which are under investigation by police which will result in legal action being taken against drivers.
Drivers have also been fined for burnouts and four cyclists have been fined for bicycle and helmet offences, Sergeant Henderson said.
“These numbers relate to Junee police only and do not include infractions detected by Wagga Highway Patrol,” he said.
“It must be noted that a large portion of these incidents would not have been detected without the assistance and information supplied by the community.
“Junee police cannot be there on every occasion when drivers do stupid things, we rely and encourage the community to report such incidents.”
Sergeant Henderson said officers were encouraged to interact with the community giving them the opportunity to share information.
“Drivers are reminded that holding a driver’s licence is a privilege and not a right,” he said. “This privilege can be removed at any time by police and can have serious financial and social ramifications, such as loss of employment and even jail.”