Karen Wardill, pictured with her husband Greg, started a petition calling for a crackdown on dangerous driving in Mount Maunganui. Photo / Bijou Johnson
Mount Maunganui residents are calling on authorities to crack down on “boy racers” cruising main streets and upsetting people with dangerous driving and noisy cars.
Police leaders say perceptions of dangerous driving can differ from reality, and an anti-cruising law “will not work” - with some people doing laps just looking for a park.
Resident Karen Wardill has more than 1250 signatures for her petition against “dangerous and noisy” driving at the Mount.
She addressed Tauranga City Council’s City Future Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Wardill described the rapid acceleration, engine revving, excessively loud, tuned-up vehicles, aggressive driving and cruising that frustrated the community.
She said it happened daily, including weekends, at all hours and was most prominent downtown area around Maunganui Rd and Marine Parade.
She suggested the committee create a preventative solution involving regulating traffic and controlling cruising behaviour.
“Christchurch introduced an anti-cruising bylaw. They used a co-ordinated preventative approach … [using] bylaws, signage and enforcement. It was very effective.”
She also suggested using street design features seen elsewhere, including pedestrian‑focused layouts, traffic‑calming measures and lower speed limits in high‑risk areas.
She said the goal of the petition and call for action was not removing cars from the Mount but to create an enforceable long-term solution.
“Cruising and speeding are dangerous and very upsetting to our Mount residents.”
Mount Mainstreet manager Jay Banner said the “growing” issue was undermining the safety and experience of being in the town.
Banner cited two incidents involving boy racers that left his 75‑year‑old mother too afraid to walk downtown alone.
In one, she was startled by a vehicle, fell and fractured her skull. In the other, she was hit by a heavily braking vehicle.
Banner said the behaviour was persistent rather than isolated, with noise, fumes and aggressive driving deterring people from public spaces and affecting hospitality businesses, particularly outdoor dining.
“This is not about being anti-youth or anti-car cultural, but it is about behaviour, safety and ensuring that our shared public spaces are enjoyable and accessible to everyone.”
He said boy racers could create an “intimidating” atmosphere that made people uncomfortable and, over time, could shape an area’s reputation.
Banner asked for stronger and more visible enforcement, a consistent presence during peak times, noise and speed monitoring and clear, immediate consequences for dangerous driving and illegal vehicle modifications.
“We want a town that is vibrant, energetic and attractive, but we also need it to be safe, welcoming and comfortable for residents, visitors and businesses alike.”
Council manager of transport system operations Shawn Geard said staff found the Christchurch bylaw had not been as effective as hoped.
He said they were waiting on the Government’s Antisocial Road Use Legislation Amendment Bill to “help give [the bill] a bit more teeth” and to see how police would enforce it.
The bill, which had its second reading in March, will create new offences and penalties for dangerous drivers – including a new “frightening or intimidating convoy” offence – and make it easier for offending vehicles to be seized or destroyed.
Western Bay of Plenty Police area commander, Inspector Clifford Paxton, said people were driving around the Mount peninsula “for no other reason than to be seen and heard”.
He said police had done noise operations in Mount Maunganui and could do more.
He said organisers of last weekend’s D1NZ event – a professional motorsport championship – made a trip management plan for the drift car cruise down Marine Parade.
He said police had calls about it during the cruise, but after investigating, found no offences were disclosed.
“The perceptions are often quite different from the reality around speed and dangerous behaviour.”
He said there was an opportunity to take an evidence-based approach using decibel meters.
Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the legal definition of cruising under the Land Transport Act described it as repeatedly driving a route in a way that drew attention to a vehicle’s noise or power and disrupted traffic.
He asked Paxton how excess noise was enforced.
Paxton said the vehicle had to be noisier than when it was manufactured. Some noisy vehicles, however, had a current warrant of fitness, which added an enforcement challenge.
He said police wanted to gather more evidence about the vehicles involved and the affected area, to consider against the parameters of the Land Transport Act.
Area road policing manager, Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter, said he asked Christchurch stations about the anti-cruising law.
“They basically laughed at me, they said, ‘waste of time’ … the legislation’s got no teeth.”
He said drivers had to cruise around the area five times, with the same driver each time.
Hunter said parking difficulties in the Mount meant many people lapped the block searching for a space, not intending to “cruise”.
“The anti-cruising law will not work in the Mount.”
Hunter said the fine for noisy vehicles was $50 and 20 demerits.
“That’s about all we can do. $50 is nothing to these guys. They don’t care.”
He said officers could do a test as to whether they believed the vehicle was noisy, then “green-sticker” the car to be sent to an acoustic specialist to be certified.
Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular said this was an issue that had been going on for 30 years.
Drysdale said the council would investigate interim options while waiting to see what came from the Government’s amendment bill, which may solve the issue.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Ayla Yeoman is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.