Kaikohe and Raumanga residents fed up with dangerous dirt bike riding

Okara Ward councillor Carol Peters at the intersection of Raumanga Valley Rd and SH1, site of a fatal dirt bike crash. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Residents of Kaikohe and Raumanga are fed up with people on dirt bikes riding dangerously and disturbing the peace.

Police data showed there were 592 complaints made in Kaikohe alone about dirt bike riders, and 515 in Whangārei, between January 2019 and March 2022.

Police received more than 1600 complaints about dirt bikes in the whole Northland region over the same period.

The data was released after an Official Information Act request, and comes out just as Road Safety Week begins.

Kaikohe Business Association chairwoman Linda Bracken said people on dirt bikes and motorbikes frequently rode up and down the town's main street on one wheel.

Locals are trying to get a dirt bike track built out of town so the riders have somewhere safe to go, she said.

"We have been asking 'what can we provide to these guys, what other places have they got that are safe for them?'"

Many of them were young people at home with nothing to do over the summer holidays, while in Covid lockdown, or simply not at school, Bracken said.

"We have got high truancy rate here, kids at home with no supervision."

The problem was serious enough that barriers had to be put in on the cycle trail to stop motorbikes, dirt bikes and other vehicles accessing it, she added.

Kaikohe Business association chairwoman Linda Bracken. Photo / Tania Whyte

Another ongoing issue was the lack of a 24-hour police presence in Kaikohe, Bracken said, and a lack of police in the area which residents wanted to have addressed.

Whangarei District councillor Carol Peters said she has had many calls and complaints from constituents in Raumanga about dirt bikes.

"They do talk about noise but also they are doing it at night without lights and they do worry about accidents as there has already been one death."

A dirt bike rider was killed in a crash on SH1 in Raumanga on March 9. Police said at the time the rider was riding with no lights on and no helmet.

Peters said she and Whangārei MP Emily Henderson have been looking into the issue, and having meetings with residents about it.

"She and I think it would be good to look at Raumanga collectively and see what it is that would be helpful for the people that are complaining, for the parents of these children and for the children themselves."

She said there has been talk of building dirt bike tracks, but there were problems with that as there would still be noise issues and if they were built out of town, there could be transport issues.

Raumanga residents have posted on social media about dirt bike riders ignoring traffic rules.

One poster said riders were "doing wheel stands up Oakland down Fourth Ave and back through Maunu lights. Makes me cringe and feel scared I'm going to hear an awful crash noise."

"One on black dirt bike, with red hoodie came off just below the spot where the guy's lost his life a month ago, he cut across the intersection in front of me and bang dropped his bike," another said.

A police spokesperson said they receive a high number of complaints about dirt bikes in Kaikohe and Whangārei, but it was not an issue exclusive to those areas.

Dirt bikes and motorbikes are often ridden unsafely down Kaikohe's main street, Kaikohe Business Association chairwoman Linda Bracken says. Photo / Tania Whyte

"Riding dirt bikes around any public area unsafely is a concern to police, as it poses a safety risk to riders and community members.

"Riders are usually breaking the law as most do not wear helmets, or the bikes being operated on are not warranted or registered."

The spokesperson said police see riders of all ages, and "actively attempt" to stop riders where they are able.

"Police's fleeing driver policy prioritises safety over the immediate apprehension of a fleeing driver.

"This means our officers undertake a risk assessment which includes the safety of the public, officers, and the fleeing driver or rider."

Police encouraged anyone who sees anyone riding unsafely to report it on 111, or 105 if it has already happened.

Descriptions and photos of offenders would help police locate them, as well as letting them know the direction they came from and went towards, the spokesperson said.

There were also 75 complaints about dirt bikes in Kawakawa, and 64 in Kamo over the three-year period.

Road Safety Week runs until May 15. This year's theme is Road Safety Heroes - celebrating the work of road safety professionals.