New boy racer bill
Discussion
Pathetic... I notice they're making "registration plate" offences demerit-worthy.
I hope every TVR owner is listening (back-lit rear plates = ILLEGAL)
How in the hell are they going to enforce what is "cruising" and what is not? Now if I head on down to main street to watch a movie and I have to drive around the block to find a park, PC plod is going to have my licence?
I hope every TVR owner is listening (back-lit rear plates = ILLEGAL)
How in the hell are they going to enforce what is "cruising" and what is not? Now if I head on down to main street to watch a movie and I have to drive around the block to find a park, PC plod is going to have my licence?
Esprit said:
Pathetic... I notice they're making "registration plate" offences demerit-worthy.
I hope every TVR owner is listening (back-lit rear plates = ILLEGAL)
How in the hell are they going to enforce what is "cruising" and what is not? Now if I head on down to main street to watch a movie and I have to drive around the block to find a park, PC plod is going to have my licence?
Watch out... next they will be issuing tickets for excessive forum posting I hope every TVR owner is listening (back-lit rear plates = ILLEGAL)
How in the hell are they going to enforce what is "cruising" and what is not? Now if I head on down to main street to watch a movie and I have to drive around the block to find a park, PC plod is going to have my licence?
Nearly 5k you sad sad man
If this is anything other than capricious pandering to the inane blathering of misaffected malcontents who do not rightly insist upon the proper enforcement of existing statutes and regulations, AND the application of the existing range of punishments, then the crushing would also apply to
- repeat drink-drivers
- repeat driving without a license
- repeat driving outside the terms of a restricted license
Should I hold my breath ?
- repeat drink-drivers
- repeat driving without a license
- repeat driving outside the terms of a restricted license
Should I hold my breath ?
Kiwi Carguy said:
Esprit said:
Pathetic... I notice they're making "registration plate" offences demerit-worthy.
I hope every TVR owner is listening (back-lit rear plates = ILLEGAL)
How in the hell are they going to enforce what is "cruising" and what is not? Now if I head on down to main street to watch a movie and I have to drive around the block to find a park, PC plod is going to have my licence?
Watch out... next they will be issuing tickets for excessive forum posting I hope every TVR owner is listening (back-lit rear plates = ILLEGAL)
How in the hell are they going to enforce what is "cruising" and what is not? Now if I head on down to main street to watch a movie and I have to drive around the block to find a park, PC plod is going to have my licence?
Nearly 5k you sad sad man
I'm all for the little f*ckers who terrorise people by doing burn-outs at 3am day-in day-out outside their houses being punished, but a cruising law? How's a punter supposed to make an educated selection from south aucklands finest street walkers if he's not given time to peruse? Madness.....
I am sure the cruising part of the law will be very much up to interpretation. It will be interesting to see whether it only applies to boyracers, or like the sustained loss of traction law, will see some middle aged, distinctly un-boyracer types get done as well.
I am slightly worried, as I have a woeful sense of direction, and thus spend quite a lot time 'cruising' whenever i'm in an unfamiliar area.
I am slightly worried, as I have a woeful sense of direction, and thus spend quite a lot time 'cruising' whenever i'm in an unfamiliar area.
Jem Thompson said:
I am sure the cruising part of the law will be very much up to interpretation. It will be interesting to see whether it only applies to boyracers, or like the sustained loss of traction law, will see some middle aged, distinctly un-boyracer types get done as well.
I am slightly worried, as I have a woeful sense of direction, and thus spend quite a lot time 'cruising' whenever i'm in an unfamiliar area.
Tell me more about the "loss of traction law", have people been done for this when they really should not have been? as you imply above? Would love to hear some stories!I am slightly worried, as I have a woeful sense of direction, and thus spend quite a lot time 'cruising' whenever i'm in an unfamiliar area.
Whitey, a while ago now some fella in a rather expensive Merc did a skid from an intersection was it Hamilton?????? He got pulled up and the car impounded. It made headlines around the country. But doubt many will take notice of this its hard to police.
Give me a hill, wet tarseal and 420bhp, hold on everyone
Give me a hill, wet tarseal and 420bhp, hold on everyone
The sustained loss of traction law, according to the LTNZ/SA/NZTA or whatever, goes like this. "Your vehicle can (and usually will) also be impounded if you're caught racing (eg drag racing) or performing 'street car stunts' (eg wheel spins)". From the NZ Police website, " You must not, without reasonable excuse, operate a motor vehicle on a road in a manner that causes the vehicle to undergo sustained loss of traction (unless authorised by law)" "When a Police officer believes on reasonable grounds that a vehicle has been operated in an illegal street race, an unnecessary exhibition of speed, or a burnout, the officer may impound the vehicle for 28 days at the owner's expense - effective immediately". A link to the site- http://www.police.govt.nz/service/road/boyracerdet...
Here is a little story that was printed in NZ Driver magazine two years ago. Man gets pulled over for speeding in his XR8 (fair enough, not dispute there). Is obviously a bit a bit pissed off, so gives it some stick as he pulls away. One wheel is on the gravel verge, one on tarmac. Briefly spins the unloaded wheel, before the TC kills some of the power. Cop pulls him over and impounds the car under the boyracer law. Car then got stolen from the impound lot and things got a bit messy.
I nearly got done for this as well. Was dropping a guy from work home in a work car, a Daihatsu Sirion with a pretty worn clutch. Stalled at some lights on a steep hill. My passenger had been away for the weekend, so had all his luggage in the boot, which combined with my slightly more judicous use of the throttle after the stall, meant the front tyres just lit up. A cop was coming the other way, but thank god he was already on a motorway onramp so couldn't do anything. I was white and shaking for hours. Also nearly got done when I was not paying attention at some lights and didn't realise they had gone green. Jumped on the throttle and did the smallest most pathetic skid you can imagine, it sounded like I had run over a rat. COp pulled me over and said I was very lucky to be let off.
Its a good law for stopping proper boyracers, the ones shredding their tyres through urban areas at night, but the cops go overboard sometimes and enforce when a warning really should be enough. A while ago, if you got a bit sideways coming out of a roundablout, you got a warning, maybe a small fine. BUt your car impounded for month? Madness.
Here is a little story that was printed in NZ Driver magazine two years ago. Man gets pulled over for speeding in his XR8 (fair enough, not dispute there). Is obviously a bit a bit pissed off, so gives it some stick as he pulls away. One wheel is on the gravel verge, one on tarmac. Briefly spins the unloaded wheel, before the TC kills some of the power. Cop pulls him over and impounds the car under the boyracer law. Car then got stolen from the impound lot and things got a bit messy.
I nearly got done for this as well. Was dropping a guy from work home in a work car, a Daihatsu Sirion with a pretty worn clutch. Stalled at some lights on a steep hill. My passenger had been away for the weekend, so had all his luggage in the boot, which combined with my slightly more judicous use of the throttle after the stall, meant the front tyres just lit up. A cop was coming the other way, but thank god he was already on a motorway onramp so couldn't do anything. I was white and shaking for hours. Also nearly got done when I was not paying attention at some lights and didn't realise they had gone green. Jumped on the throttle and did the smallest most pathetic skid you can imagine, it sounded like I had run over a rat. COp pulled me over and said I was very lucky to be let off.
Its a good law for stopping proper boyracers, the ones shredding their tyres through urban areas at night, but the cops go overboard sometimes and enforce when a warning really should be enough. A while ago, if you got a bit sideways coming out of a roundablout, you got a warning, maybe a small fine. BUt your car impounded for month? Madness.
Edited by Jem Thompson on Wednesday 27th May 21:51
I guess it's all at the actual cop's discretion who witnesses the event, so hopefully common sense prevails!
The funny thing was reading those stories I was just thinking how there must still be frequent enough traffic cops on the roads in NZ to worry drivers into thinking they will be caught!
The standard of driving over here gets worse each day as the only thing drivers worry about is speed cameras. They know it's so rare they will actually see a traffic cop on the road.
The funny thing was reading those stories I was just thinking how there must still be frequent enough traffic cops on the roads in NZ to worry drivers into thinking they will be caught!
The standard of driving over here gets worse each day as the only thing drivers worry about is speed cameras. They know it's so rare they will actually see a traffic cop on the road.
I do live in Auckland, and work downtown, so there are plenty of cops around, though they are not normally on traffic duty. But then I only in the weekends, so maybe there are more around then. Of course, if I want to be a bit naughty I just head out into the country. Plus, I get little joy out of wheelspinning around the city, most of the time it is either an accident (ie on a hill), or impatience.
Whitey said:
Tell me more about the "loss of traction law", have people been done for this when they really should not have been? as you imply above? Would love to hear some stories!
I've had a cop try to book me for it one time when the Exige's back end stepped sideways about a foot trying to nip into a gap in traffic (turning into a main road from a side-junction) after a hailstorm. The car hit the white painted median (ZERO grip), wheels spun up, it popped sideways, I backed out of the throttle, it came back in line, I got back into the throttle, it lit up again, got back out and recovered a third time and went on my merry way.Robocop came after me (plainclothes) and was determined to do me for it... it was only after about half an hour of arguing with him and him trying to do me for whatever he could, that he realised that he probably wouldn't have been able to make it stand up when I challenged it in court (given that I've got a clean licence and in a ~$100k car you're no likely to be seen as a boyracer). Still, if I'd rolled over and taken it, I'd have probably had SEXIGE impounded.
If you do an actual burnout, yeah you'll get impounded, but some cops will try it on if you even accelerate quickly to get into traffic (sustained loss of traction or "un-necessary display of acceleration")
Thats the problem right there, the law was passed to stop boyracers, and I don't think it should be applied to other situations. If you are wheelspinning, I think you should be dealt with under the old system, not punished by having your car impounded. Having the Exige taken away would be terrible, I can't imagine you would be able sleep knowing they have got their hands on it.
"Some of these cars, basically, will need to be crushed because if you think about it, who buys a boy racer car at an auction except another boy racer."(quote from above cited article)
This is perhaps the most insidious bit of demagoguery in this whole campaign (and not just because of its appalling punctuation.) So we are to be (pre)judged, "if you think about it", for driving a particular kind of car(?)
Now, I'm as muddle-aged and fuddy-duddyish as the next man but much as I abhor boom-boxes and drifters, I'm not willing to condone legalised vandalism on the assumed guilt of the hypothetical next owner of a vehicle, purely by dint of it being "a boy(-)racer car" -and, of course, there's a selfish motive too, to my objection to this idealogical posturing: how long before this licensed prejudice morphs into one affecting owners of anything deemed a non-standard or performance car?
This way madness lies.
This is perhaps the most insidious bit of demagoguery in this whole campaign (and not just because of its appalling punctuation.) So we are to be (pre)judged, "if you think about it", for driving a particular kind of car(?)
Now, I'm as muddle-aged and fuddy-duddyish as the next man but much as I abhor boom-boxes and drifters, I'm not willing to condone legalised vandalism on the assumed guilt of the hypothetical next owner of a vehicle, purely by dint of it being "a boy(-)racer car" -and, of course, there's a selfish motive too, to my objection to this idealogical posturing: how long before this licensed prejudice morphs into one affecting owners of anything deemed a non-standard or performance car?
This way madness lies.
Edited by Fraster on Thursday 28th May 00:18
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