Will there be another boy racer crack down?

[Robotnik123]

Hi guys,

Was thinking about recent events involving so called boy racers. Like there was some sort of boy racer mass rampage in Christchurch a few weeks back and then yesterday there were those street racer deaths in Auckland.

I can see a public outcry for some sort of crackdown. What do you think they'll do? What about boot camp for boy racers? Compulsory insurance maybe - hope they never do that myself.

[bbunnys]

Im more worried about this law in June with the Db rating on exhausts. I dont want to change my big bore.

[Oblivion]

What happened yesterday? And whats this new law? Man, I feel so out of the loop! lol

I think its a bit of a cycle where they crack down for a couple weeks then something else in the media gets attention for a while until someone else does something stupid in a car then we're back where we started. The problem is the measures they put in place are hopeless and arent thought through.

[Robotnik123]

What happened yesterday?

Yeah this morning, sorry. I was refering to this incident - two people dying, apparently after being involved in a street race.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4445233a10.html

[Kenneth]

Hmmm... I know that road well used to live not far from there and used Pupuke Rd to get to and from work.


Have uploaded a picture of my route to work, and one of the intersection in question.

As you can see the road is very straight. It does however undulate. Coming up to the intersection is down hill up to the lights.

The bit of interest is the entrance to the Cemetery (ironically) on the left which is retained and rises to over 2M above the road level at the highest point. If you hit that at speed you would be dead.

The fact that the person in question rolled leads me to believe they unsuccessfully tried to get around the corner onto Birkenhead Ave. Perhaps their brakes didn't work as well as was required at the time...

[Robotnik123]

Watch the One News video here - it has a lot more details. They did infact hit the cemetary wall. The car looks like a Lancer GSR to me. I wonder if a Legnum with AYC might have made the turn safely...

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411365/1646454

Hmmm... I know that road well used to live not far from there and used Pupuke Rd to get to and from work.


Have uploaded a picture of my route to work, and one of the intersection in question.

As you can see the road is very straight. It does however undulate. Coming up to the intersection is down hill up to the lights.

The bit of interest is the entrance to the Cemetery (ironically) on the left which is retained and rises to over 2M above the road level at the highest point. If you hit that at speed you would be dead.

The fact that the person in question rolled leads me to believe they unsuccessfully tried to get around the corner onto Birkenhead Ave. Perhaps their brakes didn't work as well as was required at the time...

[Kenneth]

Watch the One News video here - it has a lot more details. They did infact hit the cemetary wall. The car looks like a Lancer GSR to me. I wonder if a Legnum with AYC might have made the turn safely...

A different driver may have survived the crash, but it wouldn't be down to AYC. AYC is a cornering AID. It doesn't have the strength to make any serious adjustments, but it can make minor ones which allow a better line and can be the difference between spinning and not spinning when driving at the limit.

Coming up to an intersection far too fast and not being able to get around a corner is a simple physics problem. To do the damage that they did, they were either far far too fast, brakes faded and by the look of things they didn't try that hard to turn anyway.

[Rossco Type-S]

I can see a public outcry for some sort of crackdown. What do you think they'll do? What about boot camp for boy racers? Compulsory insurance maybe - hope they never do that myself.

A report on compulsory insurance is supposed to go to Cabinet soon. Doubt they would do it in an election year though - labour needs the poor people vote.

IMO the sooner they make insurance compulsory the better! I want to know if someone crashes into me that they will wear the cost and not me. Uninsured people push premiums up for responsible car owners. If you can't afford insurance for the car you have you shouldn't have that car. Driving is a privilege not a right.

[Subaru ETA]

yup i have always said insurance should be compulsory...get rid of these boy racer sponsered by easy finance!

too many young meat heads can get there hands on fast car too easily.

last night i was sitting at the lights and this dork who cant even work out how to put his hat on properly pulls up next to me in his rx7. light changes and hes screaming off in a cloud of smoke. i just thought "o yeah good stuuf tosser".

then when the lanes merge i see a gsr come screaming up behind me and nose dive as he hits the picks. i look in my rear view and see its yet another dork who cant get his hat on straight. he then pulls out and passes me on the wrong side of the road in a 50k area!.

then as they got on the motorway at te atatu (big loop on ramp) i just sat on there ass with 2 ayc bars up, the nailed it as i straighted up. i went to pass them but the rx7 tries the same and snaps the arse end out, nearly spinning.

i then just sat in the middle lane at 105k and watch them slow right down.

just goes to show these idiots are just too young and stupid to have fast cars and compulsory insurance would hopefully stop this.

and lets face it, if you cant worok out how to pull your pants up and wear your hat properly, maybe you shouldnt be driving...

[bradc]

*looks at what Dave said, agrees with it 100% and presses Ctrl-C*

yup i have always said insurance should be compulsory...get rid of these boy racer sponsered by easy finance!

too many young meat heads can get there hands on fast car too easily.

[d i c k i e s]

if u watch the sister denies victim a racer
near the end of that clip is a legnum... is that anyones? (white facelift) - possible VR4

but yeah... crazy!

i agree. it all comes down to the driver of the vehicle.
i reckon if the driver was to do it again... sober... he would have taken it or at least would have slowed down.

[Robotnik123]

Re. compulsory insurance, I am not sure it will do any good. The same dodgey types who drive without licenses and such now, will probably keep driving without any insurance either. It just seems like another unnecessary burden on low income families to me. Having said that, I do of course have full insurance myself!

[Rossco Type-S]

Re. compulsory insurance, I am not sure it will do any good. The same dodgey types who drive without licenses and such now, will probably keep driving without any insurance either. It just seems like another unnecessary burden on low income families to me. Having said that, I do of course have full insurance myself!

You are right the same people who openly flout the current laws will continue to do so, but that is a reason to give teeth to our justice system. Do you think we should legalise theft, murder and rape because some people still do it?

Screw the poor, if they are that poor they should take the bus. If they can't afford insurance they sure as hell won't be able to pay for repairs to any damage they cause. Third party insurance is relatively cheap anyway, unless you have a high risk car or bad driving record (which of course is part of the reason for making it compulsory).

[bradc]

I agree with rossco, if they can't afford insurance they shouldn't be driving. A cheap car that is only worth $1000 won't cost anything to insure, especially with 3rd party only.

[Rossco Type-S]

Back to the original question of will there be a boy racer crack down? Realistically it depends whether it becomes an election issue. Obviously it is a very politically charged issue in Chch, but not so much in the rest of the country.

The crash last night is one of many involving "boyracers", it is really interesting what the media pick up on and what they don't. A boyracer killed himself by parking his honda sideways into a tree the weekend before last on a road on the outskirts of Dunedin, speed was the cause and it only got a one-line mention tagged on as part of another story on TV3 news.

Same as the young boy killed in my street in Jan this year, the media (other than a few comments in the local paper) have never really mentioned that the Subaru that caused the crash was doing closer to 200km/h than 100.

Basically a lot of people are dying needlessly, and nothng is going to change until a politican tries to make a name for themself. And when changes do finally occur, it is going to affect everyone like the increasing demerit points for speeding etc. Joe average is going to lose their license for doing 105 in a 100 zone and the like.

[Robotnik123]

Also I think insurance companies will use the compulsory insurance thing as an excuse to hike premiums for everyone. Doing that may seem counter-intuitive, but I don't trust them - there will be some excuse and they will cite some extenuating circumstances for it.

[Kenneth]

Compulsory insurance... I think it'll do little good. Those who are honest will still pay for theirs and those who are not wont. Still, I do think it is a good idea and support it.

As for the "if you are too poor to afford insurance, you shouldn't be driving" comment...
It is cheaper to drive than use public transport, because of this poor people cannot afford NOT to drive.

Perhaps you should be licensed to drive a X hp or Y performance rated car... And to get that license you need to pass Z test. This should also affect the speed at which you get ticketed (based on the circumstances of course and open road only) and points should demote your class of license. If you want to hold a high performance license, you then pay a fair (as in not too much) fee every year or 2 to undergo a driving review.

[bradc]

I dunno, if you buy a car, pay for registration, keeping it up to WOF standard, as well as petrol, it is pretty expensive. Most people would be able to catch a bus or a train for similar or cheaper money.

[Robotnik123]

I dunno, if you buy a car, pay for registration, keeping it up to WOF standard, as well as petrol, it is pretty expensive. Most people would be able to catch a bus or a train for similar or cheaper money.

There's probaly a large number of lower income people leaving in more rural areas whre there is no public and transport and so have to drive also. Compulsory insurance could be quite burdensome for people like that.

[bradc]

rubbish, how much will insurance cost per year for a $1000 with 3rd party only coverage in a rural area?

btw Jan, got your money for the filter