Controls for cars on the coast called for

More people will die on Northland's beaches unless something is done to control vehicles driving on the sand, a Far North beachside resident says.

Police, councils and the Department of Conservation share his fears. The Northern Advocate newspaper has received a flurry of calls from coastal residents and visitors concerned about the behaviour of some beach drivers. Areas of particular concern include Ahipara, Ninety Mile Beach, Ruakaka, Pouto Peninsula, Ripiro Beach and Uretiti.

Last month, 18-year- old Luke Newman died after crashing his motorbike on Tuna Tuna Beach, near Ahipara. William McDonald, of Ahipara Beach, said it was the third death involving a vehicle on beaches there in the past few years. More people would die unless authorities got tough on inconsiderate drivers on beaches, he said.

Mr McDonald said Ahipara Beach had been overrun by quad and trail bikes this summer. "People just hoon around on the beach putting other people at risk. They just don't give a hoot. At times this beach is a cross between a motorcross event and the Western Springs Speedway," he said.

Northland road policing manager Inspector Rob Lindsay said anybody going faster than about 10km/ h past groups of people on a beach could be charged with dangerous driving. "Vehicles on beaches are a problem up here and from a policing point of view it's a big headache," he said. "We can't be on every beach all the time."

Waitakere police had launched beach patrols with officers on quad bikes, a possibility in Northland.

Kaitaia police Senior Sergeant Gordon Gunn is concerned a major accident could occur. "The beaches are classed as roads, and they have a speed restriction of 100km/h and all the normal road rules," he said. "People have to be mindful that there are other people on the beach and they have to drive to the conditions. Just because the limit is 100km/h doesn't mean you should travel at that speed. A major accident's always a possibility if people don't improve their behaviour."

Whangarei District Council could impose speed restrictions on its beaches if it wished to.

The council has received complaints about reckless driving on Bream Bay beaches and is keeping an eye on the situation.

In the west Kaipara District Council chief executive officer Jack McKerchar says there's "probably" a need for them at Ripiro Beach, a 100km stretch of coast west of Dargaville he said was popular for four-wheel-drive vehicles and motorbikes, but some had damaged dunes and wetlands.

About three months ago the council discussed restricting speeds at Ripiro Beach, which includes Baylys, Glinks Gully and Pouto, but it was decided the problem was not serious enough.

Mr McKerchar said Pouto people were so fed up with motorists ruining vegetation on their beach they had set up a group to work with DOC and the council to curb the problem. DOC Kauri Coast area manager Tim Brandenburg said Baylys Beach had some of the region's worst dune damage.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)