Traffic police are gearing up to deal with copycat driving once a boy-racing movie starts showing on Thursday.
But an organised group of car enthusiasts believes the police are wasting time better spent on serious crimes.
The movie, The Fast And The Furious, focuses on the Los Angeles illegal street-racing scene and
has apparently attracted a cult following among boy racers abroad.
It has already had an impact in the United States.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote: "The movie, featuring scenes of wild street races, is being blamed for a surge in dangerous stunt-driving in parking lots around theatres and on the open road."
Senior Sergeant Kevin Riordan, of Wellington's traffic squad, said police were aware of the movie and the associated bad driving behaviour that followed its launch in other areas.
"We will be looking at driving standards.
"We will be paying particular attention after the movie on Thursday night," Mr Riordan said.
Police have run special operations in the past to combat boy racing.
Warren Sare, a spokesman for the Midnight Motorsport group, which was set up to give structure to Wellington's modified vehicle scene, said the movie was unlikely to affect the driving standards of most high-performance car enthusiasts.
But he acknowledged that some inexperienced youngsters might fall victim to the movie's hype.
"In all honesty I don't think it does [have an effect] ... The driving behaviour doesn't change," Mr Sare said.
His message to police was: "Stop wasting your time harassing us and go and solve some real crimes."
Many boy racers have already seen the movie.
A special preview was held in Porirua this week and bootleg copies are reported to be circulating.
In Tauranga, the first round of a pre-summer blitz against hoons has resulted in police stopping 45 boy-racers.
They have pledged to use the full force of the law to rid the city of the menace.
The promise to crack down on the young men and their souped-up cars follows a raid at McLaren Falls, 15km west of Tauranga, last weekend.
On that night $10,000 in instant fines were issued.
Head of highway patrols for the Eastern and Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga, Cameron Anderson, was delighted by the success of the operation, which removed dozens of "boy racers" from circulation.
He warned that police will continue to target boy racers.
The police Regional Highway Unit head, Senior Sergeant Kevin Taylor, said he was concerned by the high number of vehicles that were without registration or a warrant of fitness and by the breaches of the restrictions on learners and restricted licences discovered during the raid.
On the same night, police found two cars driven by boy racers parked side by side ready to race.
Another youth was standing on the road dropping a flag to start the race.
The two drivers were fined $630 for doing 130 km/h on the Waikareao Expressway.
- NZPA
Traffic police are gearing up to deal with copycat driving once a boy-racing movie starts showing on Thursday.
But an organised group of car enthusiasts believes the police are wasting time better spent on serious crimes.
The movie, The Fast And The Furious, focuses on the Los Angeles illegal street-racing scene and
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