INTERNET footage of Cairns hoons doing burnouts and drag-racing along a busy road is being investigated as police vow to crack down on rogue rev-heads.

The footage comes as a 22-year-old man was charged in an unrelated incident after allegedly hooning around Smithfield streets doing burnouts and driving at high speed about 5am on Saturday.

The man, who had a blood alcohol level of 0.138 per cent, was charged with drink-driving and two counts of assaulting police and will appear in Cairns Magistrates’ Court on August 11.

Police are still investigating and called for witnesses who may have seen a vehicle being operated dangerously in the area.

Traffic branch officers are also appealing to fed-up residents to film hoons in the act and pass their footage on to police.

Recent videos posted on popular website YouTube show:

•  A hoon in a dual-cab ute doing a burnout on a road surrounded by cane paddocks.

• A Holden Commodore sedan doing a burnout along Vasey Esplanade at Trinity Beach.

  A Holden Commodore sedan doing a burnout along Vasey Esplanade at Trinity Beach.

• Two sedans drag-racing down a street that appears to be Mulgrave Rd. 

Far North acting traffic Insp Preben Farbaek said the videos showed the drivers’ mentality and intelligence.

Acting Insp Farbaek said police were monitoring the videos as part of their campaign to catch dangerous drivers.

He said officers analysed the videos to identify the features of the drivers, vehicles and landscape as part of their investigations.

"If we can establish where it is and who it is, we can follow it up," he said.

"Even if we can't establish who the driver is, we can serve a notice on the owner of the vehicle and he could find himself in court."

In one of the YouTube videos, titled "Matts last burnout before he lost his licence", the vehicle's number plate is clearly visible.

Acting Insp Farbaek encouraged annoyed residents and business owners to record hoons only if there was no threat to their safety.

But he said police could only prosecute the offenders if people were prepared to give evidence in court.

"Otherwise it (the footage) helps us build a profile of a hoon but we can’t take enforcement action,"
acting Insp Farbaek said.

Traffic branch officers are also using a fleet of unmarked cars of various makes and models in covert operations to nab elusive mobs of hoons equipped with police radio scanners.

Police later this year will have access to the Q-Car fleet, enabling them to exchange their cars when hoons become familiar with them.

About 200 vehicles have been seized since anti-hooning laws came into force in 2002.

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