Sleepless may take revenge on noisy car cruisers

Enough of the yahooing and showing off in souped-up cars – Palmerston North residents want their sleep.

"Cruising" culprits could have the finger of the law wagged at them, if city councillor Chris Teo-Sherrell gets his way.

Mr Teo-Sherrell wants to give police another tool to deal with "inconsiderate and anti-social road users".

At the council's community well-being meeting yesterday, councillors agreed to ask chief executive Paddy Clifford to consider drafting an anti-cruising bylaw.

The move comes after Christchurch City Council set up a draft anti-cruising bylaw, which is now out for public consultation.

Mr Teo-Sherrell said a bylaw would give the council and community another tool to help protect the community's well-being.

People in the city wanted to get a decent night's sleep, instead of being constantly interrupted by noise, he said.

Streets such as Centennial Drive and John F Kennedy Drive could be candidates for the bylaw.

Last year, the Government gave councils more power to deal with cruising.

Cruising refers to driving repeatedly on the same section of road and drawing attention to the power or the sound of the vehicle, or creating a convoy that impedes traffic flow.

Mr Teo-Sherrell said it was desirable to have an extra tool to protect community well-being.

"We should have a very low tolerance to people who drive around ... drawing attention to themselves ... modifying their cars and creating excess noise at this time of night."

 HAVE YOUR SAYShould Palmerston North have an anti-cruising bylaw?

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