A tougher approach from police seems to be phasing out boy racers, amid fear their cars could be crushed or impounded for repeat offences.
Earlier this month police minister Anne Tolley stated that illegal street racing offences had fallen 35 per cent since 2009 when government introduced legislation to combat boy racers. Local police have also welcomed the news on the back of their own operation in 2012 that saw cars impounded as a result of driver behaviour.
A spokesperson for the Nelson Police says the individuals involved were finally getting the message that there is a real risk that they could lose their vehicle if their driving habits are not altered. “This group has in the past not been deterred by financial penalties for their actions. The fact this operation has been so successful is put down to the individuals involved realising that there is a real risk.”
But while a harder approach by police has seen some boy racers stop gathering at Friday night skids, some young drivers spoken to by the Nelson Weekly say police are targeting anyone that drives a modified car, even if they do not use it to drive illegally.
Liam Gill, who has only been fined once for speeding, says he was all for cleaning up the act of people who broke the law, as it gave the rest “a bad name”.
“But unfortunately they come down hard on everyone and us legal ones still get hassled big time. But what’s got to be done gets done.”
Liam says the vehicle confiscation and seizure bill, which ensures offenders’ cars are crushed after their third driving offence, has made a huge change to how people in the car community operate. “I for one don’t want my $15,000 car crushed so I avoid trying to even tempt myself to do a burnout. Not saying people still don’t but if you get caught you should pay the price.”
Another driver, who admits he was getting fined every weekend and is on his sixth licence suspension, says he is not surprised that the number of offences are reducing as he himself had stopped because of tougher police enforcement. “It’s a step that needed to be taken or the streets will soon be owned by boy racers,” the driver says. “Basically having my licence taken from me for getting too many fines has stopped me from driving illegally because I don’t want that to happen again.”
Other drivers told the Weekly they stopped attending skids at Waimea West on a Friday night simply because they had “grown up” while some took the legal path and visit events in Christchurch. Another driver, who didn’t want his name in print, is building a boy racer car and says he goes to Christchurch for drift competitions and was not using it on the street to kill anyone. “There is a big difference with the attitude and mind set. Some think it’s okay to go out the wop wops and do skids and I agree fully but what if it took an ambulance one and a half hours to get out there and by that stage a driver was dead?”
