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Home / New Zealand

Calls for drag strip to stop illegal racing

Hawkes Bay Today
8 Jan, 2014 04:01 AM3 mins to read

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People want a drag strip to be made to stop boy racers illegally racing.

People want a drag strip to be made to stop boy racers illegally racing.

More than 170 Hawke's Bay boy racers have been convicted under new laws brought in to crack down on illegal street racing.

But the legislation wouldn't be necessary if racers had a place to go, a local car enthusiast says.

Figures released under the Official Information Act show Hawke's Bay recorded 237 street racing convictions between December 2009 and June 2013.

Five were second-strike convictions.

"Boy racer legislation" introduced in 2009 gave courts the power to destroy an offender's car if they ticked up three illegal street racing offences within four years.

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Offences include racing and excessive speeding, and "sustained loss of traction", which includes "burnouts" and "drifting".

Former boy racer and car enthusiast Steven Climo said the "three strikes" legislation wouldn't be necessary if boy racers had a place to go.

"If there was something put in place for them to do what they want to do then the police wouldn't have to worry about crushing cars."

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Earlier this year, Mr Climo launched the Facebook page "Let's get a drag strip in Napier", to rally support for an annual street-meet where drivers could race in a safe and legal way.

It would also save police a lot of resources, he said.

"People just do it anyway, they're not worried about police."

A drag strip in Taupo had already seen a drop in boy racers on the roads, Mr Climo said.

Nationally, Ministry of Justice figures record 5002 street racing convictions, with 10 offenders notching up three or more convictions since the legislation was introduced. The first car to be flattened under the boy-racer legislation was at a Lower Hutt scrap-metal yard in June 2012, after its owner was convicted of his fourth driving offence. Two more have been crushed since then - the most recent a 1995 BMW belonging to Tauranga boy racer Braedyn Clothier.

Christchurch took the title of New Zealand's boy racer capital. It recorded 618 street racing convictions since 2009, with the next highest Manukau, followed by North Shore, Hamilton and Tauranga.

Of South Island centres, Invercargill recorded the second-highest number of offences with 186.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley said the new laws were proving effective.

Between 2009-2012, the number of infringement notices issued for illegal street racing fell 35 per cent, she said.

The same period saw a 38 per cent drop in the number of 15-24 year olds killed on our roads.

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"Crushing cars was not a target. Instead, the aim of the legislation was to be an effective deterrent to change young driver behaviour ..." APNZ

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