Waikato Police head up to Night Wars, an organised boy racer event, to make sure things stay safe and legal.
Some people have had to move house and others feel trapped inside their homes due to the antics of boy racers at an Upper Hutt suburb, a police survey has revealed.
Police and members of a working group are considering ways to discourage “anti-social vehicle users”[ASVU] from gathering near Wallaceville Estate, including by applying an anti-slip substance to the roads which makes it difficult to lose traction.
One resident said his very first night after moving to the suburb, he was woken in the middle of the night by noise from one of the regular boy racer meets in the area.
The mess left behind by boy racers’ burn-outs at the intersection of Thomas Neal Crescent and William Durant Drive in Wallaceville, Upper Hutt. Photo / Mark Mitchell
While he said the issue has improved slightly in recent months, some residents still feel something needs to be done as they deal with sleepless nights and fear for their properties. Some had been forced to move house to avoid it, he said.
The issue is centred on Alexander Rd, which is an industrial area bordering the suburb. The resident noted for many living in “the village”, the building up of houses and townhouses near Alexander Rd had helped block some of the noise travelling further into the suburb.
“I am restricted to my house when these races start. I don’t feel safe to drive when the races start,” said one respondent to the police survey. “In case of an emergency, I fear I won’t be able to travel the roads to reach my family.”
Others said they and their children struggled to sleep due to the noise of tyres screeching and loud music.
“When weekends are approaching, we are left wondering if we are going to get to sleep through the night,” one said.
The survey was run for two weeks across May and June last year and was completed by 249 people. About 85 per cent of respondents said they had been negatively affected by ASVU behaviours.
Burnt tyre fragments and other debris left behind by boy racers. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“The long-term effects of this are making me consider moving to a different town as nothing seems to be done by local authorities to control this problem and it is causing severe anxiety for my family,” said one respondent.
A mum of a young baby said she feared what could happen if any of the cars crashed into her property.
Respondents said they were affected by noise, rubbish left behind, the smell of smoke from tyres and damage to roads.
The report into the survey said the level of impact from these behaviours was “extremely significant” for the residents involved.
One resident who spoke to the Herald and did not want to be named for fear of repercussions said when the survey was carried out, ASVU drivers were meeting in their area nearly every Friday and Saturday night. Lately, though, he said they were meeting about once every three weeks, in groups of varying sizes.
The resident, who is also a member of the working group focused on ASVU in the Hutt, was not sure exactly why activity had died down, but thought it might have something to do with the weather getting colder.
“The [residents] that are along Alexander Rd are the main ones that find it really frustrating,” he said.
He stressed the issue was not unique to Upper Hutt or Wallaceville Estate but was a national problem.
The police report lists possible actions including the use of blockades, allocating dedicated police staff to confiscate vehicles, installing surveillance cameras and targeting tyre suppliers to ensure tyres they are disposing of don’t end up in the hands of ASVU groups.
Tracks on the roads left by boy racers can be seen on Google Maps.
Hutt Valley area prevention manager Inspector Shaun Lingard said the working group was looking at some interventions “that include exploring the use of light vehicle bans in certain locations and the use of deterrent road surfaces”.
“The councils are continuously looking at road design and local speed limits whilst police continue to take enforcement against boy racers through targeted operations and the use of new technology such as drones,” Lingard said.
“Police acknowledge that not all boy racers are criminals and in fact most are law-abiding citizens. Unfortunately, there is a cohort within the car community who are willing to disrespect the community by driving dangerously, destroying the roads and acting in an anti-social manner.
“Whilst there are always interventions that can be attempted, those in the car community need to take some accountability.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
