As put by Inspector Angela Hallett, Eastern District Road Policing Manager:
Infringements issued, vehicles ordered off the road, and a vehicle impounded are some of the results from Hawke's Bay Police's focus on antisocial road users at the weekend.
Police had an increased presence across Hawke's Bay as part of our plan to disrupt unlawful driving behaviour of antisocial road users.
Over the course of the weekend, we saw a large number of antisocial road users out and about, predominantly on Friday night, with some smaller groups stopped or deterred on Saturday night by a strong Police presence.
At a Police checkpoint in the early hours of Saturday, multiple people were issued infringements for offences including breaches of learner and restricted licence conditions. These breaches carry the penalty of demerit points and fines, which jeopardises an individual's continued holding of a driver's licence.
Several unsafe or defective vehicles were issued pink or green stickers, ordering them off the road until they get a new WOF or COF.
A further vehicle was impounded after the driver was identified as being disqualified - an offence that results in the vehicle being impounded and the driver being summonsed to appear in court. False number plates were also seized from one vehicle, and an infringement was issued to the driver.
Antisocial road user behaviour is extremely dangerous to those involved, their spectators, and other road users.
That fact was highlighted this weekend, when a bystander participating in the event was struck by a vehicle doing skids at a gathering in Hawke's Bay. While no serious injuries were reported, it was an extremely close call, and enquiries are ongoing.
We will continue to maintain a focus on this area and work together with partner agencies and the community to suppress this unlawful activity and hold those involved accountable.
A number of roads were damaged from the activities this weekend, and debris was found scattered on main roads, which require inspection and clearing from local councils and the New Zealand Transport Agency.
These drivers are often young people who are still living in their family homes with parents. We ask that parents or those known to them to have conversations with your young people about this activity before it gets to a point where Police need to take enforcement action, or worse, where actions result in injury or death.
Overall, we want to see a stop to this behaviour.
