Boy-racer bill flawed, MPs to hear

Tough new boy-racer laws will not solve problems caused by noisy cars, Christchurch youth advocates and car enthusiasts will tell MPs.

A parliamentary select committee evaluating two proposed boy-racer laws will hear from 20 submitters at a hearing in Christchurch on Friday.

The new laws would give authorities more power to seize and even crush the cars of boy racers with a third street-racing offence within four years.

The laws would give police more power to break up boy-racer gatherings and would reduce fines for street-racing offences in favour of more demerit points.

Councils would be able to ban boy racers "cruising" in specific areas with new bylaws.

The Christchurch City Council is expected to make a submission raising concerns over administering any new bylaws.

Motel owners angered by boy-racer noise are expected to present submissions on the proposed laws.

Car enthusiast Ruth Anderson, 16, said the proposed laws would not solve the problem of noisy cars upsetting Christchurch residents and hotel guests.

She plans to tell MPs on Friday that a noise limit on cars would be more effective.

"The cruising legislation will not work and just move the problem elsewhere," she said.

"It is up to police discretion if you are cruising or not, so if they do not like you they can pull you over and say you are cruising, even if you are driving on a public road to your mother's house for dinner."

Anthony Rohan, chairman of a youth-based charity group, the White Elephant Trust, supports the proposal to sell cars to recover unpaid fines, but is concerned about the proposed definition of cruising.

"The definition of what consists of cruising and a convoy is open to interpretation. At the moment a lot of people drive around the four avenues, but it is not an organised convoy," he said.

"You can't just lump people as being part of an organised convoy. It does not really address the issue ... which is around the noise."

National MP Nicky Wagner, a member of the select committee, said she hoped submitters would tell it how boy racers have affected their lives.

"I am really pleased we have enough submissions in Christchurch to bring the committee down here because they need to hear what it is like on the streets," she said. "The MPs want to hear first-hand accounts of the impact of boy racers."

Wagner said the definition of cruising could be clearer in the proposed laws. "There has been discussion about the definition of cruising. That is an issue and that may be modified," she said.

Wagner said five of the 20 Christchurch submissions were from people who described themselves as boy racers or car enthusiasts.

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