Burnouts make an unsightly mess on our roads. Photo / File
OPINION
You hear them coming before you see them.
Engines roaring and wheels flying before they speed into view and disappear just as quickly.
Then the screech of burnouts (or as the police call them sustained loss of traction) fills the air and depending on how close they are, the sight and smell of smoke peeling off tyres.
There appear to be a couple of prime locations near my home. I always hold my breath when I hear them, waiting for the sound of a crash.
The drivers, often referred to as boy racers, must have plenty of money because they would have to replace their tyres every time they went for a warrant of fitness.
They were out in force during level 4 lockdown and much more noticeable because there was hardly any traffic on the road.
Unfortunately it doesn't matter how many times these drivers are warned about the way they drive, it makes no difference.
Just days after the tragic crash in Timaru which killed five teenagers when their overloaded car hit a power pole, police and emergency services were called to another crash in Dunedin.
Fortunately no one lost their life in the second crash even though the car was overloaded and the driver was on a restricted licence.
The fact of the matter is young people take risks. Some more than others, of course, but they just do.
I did. A long time ago. Not speeding or burnouts, my Mum's Morris 1000 top speed was 80mph and I never went that fast. I tried, but the shaking put me off.
My risk was disconnecting the speedometer so Mum didn't know I'd been driving round and round the ring-road instead of visiting a friend.
I once got pulled over by a traffic officer for "weaving in and out of the traffic" on the ring-road.
He asked me whose car it was. "My mum's", I replied softly hoping like hell he wasn't going to give me a ticket.
"What do you think she would have to say about you driving like this, " he said.
I would be in trouble, I replied. "Yes you would, so don't do it again." And with that he turned back to his patrol car and I quickly drove very quietly away.
I took a few other risks as well but we won't go into them here.
My point is that a lot of teenagers don't think before they leap. They don't think about consequences, they live in the moment and don't think beyond what they are doing that night with their mates.
On the Eastern District Police Facebook page recently police said the strong partnerships between Police, the Hastings District Council and the community was helping identify antisocial road users doing burnouts around Hastings.
"On average police impound around 25 vehicles a month for undertaking burnouts and antisocial driving, 16 in two weeks of covid alert level 4 lockdown. In the first six months of 2021, 133 vehicles were disposed of."
That's good news because it all goes to another level when the risk takers endanger others.
All it takes when driving at high speed is one little mistake for it to end in tragedy, not only for those in the car but for other road users.
Hopefully these "boy racers" survive to tut tut at the next generation of risk takers as they turn down the radio in their car so they can concentrate on where they are going.
Police also said it was "extremely pleasing to see an increase in members of the community reporting antisocial driving behaviour".
Ringing police is not being a tell tale. In fact your call could save lives and prevent police calling on family members to relate some tragic news.
* Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today