Govt cracks down on illegal street racers

Two Bills that give police, courts and local authorities greater powers to tackle illegal street racers and crush their vehicles as a last resort, will be introduced to Parliament today.

The Land Transport (Enforcement Powers) Amendment Bill and the Vehicle Confiscation and Seizure Bill will send a strong message to illegal street racers that dangerous, disruptive and antisocial use of vehicles will no longer be tolerated.

“Illegal street racing is a problem throughout New Zealand. As well as threatening public safety, illegal street racers cause excessive noise, disruption and intimidation," Mr Joyce says.

“Much of this activity is already illegal. The Enforcement Powers Bill is about ensuring the penalties for this antisocial behaviour are a strong deterrent to repeat offending.”

Ms Collins says the seriousness of the illegal street racer problem was highlighted earlier this year by an attack on a lone police officer by a mob of illegal street racers and their friends.

“The Government and the public have lost patience with drivers who use their vehicles in an anti-social manner and put the safety of the public and police at risk,” Ms Collins says.

“The Vehicle Confiscation and Seizure Bill aims to take the worst of them off the road by taking away their vehicle permanently. Crushing cars would be a last resort for only the most serious of repeat offenders.

"Every offence brings them one step closer to the crusher."

The Vehicle Confiscation and Seizure Bill will:

Allow vehicles to be seized and destroyed as a new penalty for illegal street racing

Allow vehicles repeatedly used by people with overdue traffic fines to be seized and sold to pay those fines

Enable Police and Courts to target illegal street racers who commit offences in another person's vehicle

The Land Transport (Enforcement Powers) Amendment Bill will include provisions to:

Allow local authorities to create bylaws that prevent vehicles repeatedly “cruising” city streets

Allow the compulsory impoundment of vehicles involved in illegal street racing

Introduce demerit points for noise offences, licence breaches and registration plate offences. This will ensure repeat offenders will lose their licenses, rather than just accrue fines.