A 25-year-old man from Okaihau has been saved by a technicality from being the first Northlander to have his car crushed under boy-racer legislation.
Last week the Advocate reported there had been 257 convictions in Northland under new laws designed to crack down on illegal street racing since 2009. Ten of those were "second strike" offences but, at that time, no one had racked up a third boy-racer conviction. After a third offence the courts can confiscate the offender's car and have it crushed.
The Okaihau driver came close to being the first Northlander to have his car flattened when locals reported a Nissan Skyline doing burnouts near the intersection of Kerikeri Inlet Rd and Blacks Rd around noon on Friday.
Police located the vehicle shortly afterwards on Sammaree Place, another road favoured by boy racers, and charged its driver with sustained loss of traction. Because it was the 25-year-old's third time charged with a boy-racer offence, fed-up Inlet Rd residents hoped his car would end up in the crusher. However, the law requires the three offences to occur within a four-year period.
The arresting officer, Senior Constable Felicity Beckett, said the man's three convictions were spread over seven years. He would appear in Kaikohe District Court on January 24 and his car had been impounded for 28 days, but his 1989 Skyline could not be sent to the crusher this time.