Boy racers 'have no respect'

Large groups of boy racers are congregating in upmarket Northwood and other residential areas in Papanui and Riccarton.

Groups between 100 and 300 are congregating in carparks and driving around no cruising zones on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. And Northwood residents are concerned about the random nature of their acts.

Northwood Residents Association chairman Clive Smith said in the last few months, boy racers have congregated at the New World carpark and have been "sliding around'' roundabouts in the area.

"When you have got narrow streets and small roundabouts, it becomes a real safety concern for ordinary motorists and for pedestrians. They race and slide around roundabouts.

"It's annoying when they congregate in an area and it shows they have no respect for the community they have come into. All you can see afterwards is the road damage and black skid marks. The problem just keeps bubbling away.

"It would be nice if they just considered their actions and how they make a community feel, stopped what they were doing and did something useful,'' he said.

Police have increased presence in these areas and spend most nights monitoring boy racer activity along the no cruising zone, Fitzgerald Ave, Riccarton Ave, Moorhouse Ave and Bealey Ave.

Senior Sergeant Phil Dean is concerned about the level of antisocial behaviour attributed to boy racers.

"Their behaviour includes drinking in liquor ban areas, drugs, fights, arguments, skids, racing, drifting and burnouts. It's unsafe, it damages roads and often places they have congregated in, they leave a mess. They are a constant annoyance.

"All we can do is move them on from areas they congregate in but one of the hardest things about policing them is that they constantly move around,'' he said.

People writing anti-police messages on social media sites such as Facebook encourages followers to get involved with these gatherings.

"There are always people writing anti-police messages on these sites. One message said 'lets get rowdy'. They do it to take a dig but it encourages a raft of other people to get involved and bring their cars out.

"You get one or two guys who organise a gathering and you can have up to 300 cars at anyone time. It's a lot of cars and it becomes a big issue. Half the time they will congregate at a place then move on and cruise around."

Senior Sergeant Dean said after the earthquakes there was a reduction but over the last few months there's been an increase in the presence of boy racers.

"We impound cars every weekend. A lot of the guys fall foul with the illegal modifications. Some of the increase has had to do with the warm weather but a lot of interest is still generated through social media sites.

"People need to remember that even if it's not their own car and they are driving, it can still be impounded. They are creating a constant annoyance in these communities with their noisy cars,'' he said.

Residents are urged to phone police if they notice a large group congregating or see any boy racer activity.