I LIVE in Featherston and I have sung the praises of the town many times. But sometimes it is the lot of towns in South Wairarapa to endure the bad 'uns, which Featherston has its share of. And one of them is speedsters racing down suburban streets, just because theycan.
Of course, Featherston is hardly unique in this behaviour. Small Wairarapa towns are targets for get-togethers with boy racers. Past examples have been Woodside railway station or Nireaha in the Tararua District. And lately, it feels like there's been more roads where you see circles and s-shapes of black rubber.
The expression youth is wasted on the young is never truer when you see the result when nuisance escalates to damage, or even death. The rueful 17-year-old on Sunday, observing his wrecked car in a Martinborough front yard, seemed matter-of-fact about it, as if the world would sort it out. He was probably slightly in shock. Both my stepsons have wrecked cars, and are thankfully still alive to talk about it.
The 17-year-old will have a police process to deal with, but as citizens we can initiate a police process over bad behaviour with driving by dialling *555 and giving details and licence plate numbers. Roadwatch, filling out a form online, is also a useful tool. I know this works because I was the unintended result of a *555 call. I had sold a car and, unfortunately, trusted the person to change the ownership.
He didn't, and when someone reported some bad driving in that car, the police called and queried me. It may be that no prosecution comes of it, but it does bring you up short when a police officer has a chat about what expected driving standards are. It means you've been noticed and, of course, if another report went in later, it's a pattern of behaviour.
Perhaps it's of minor comfort that, just lately, I seem to be enduring a higher class of street nuisance. Over the weekend, a racer was roaring up and down Fox St in Featherston and I discovered it's a James Bond-style Aston Martin.
I'm all for raising the profile and property values of Featherston, but it's still not welcome. Expect a *555 call next time, buddy.
