$1000 fine for 'cruising' boy racers affect bikers in Christchurch too?

[onearmedbandit]

There are already laws to cover those situations. But this by-law allows them to harrass anyone they wish who is going about their otherwise lawful activities. You might not think that's not going to happen to you but what's to stop it?

Yeah but they have to catch them in the act. Look in my opinion this is a bit of a storm in a tea cup, I believe that most police are not going to be interested in pulling over someone solely for cruising. What this law gives the police is another arrow to nail the ones that are causing issues.

Oh and what's to stop it happening to me? I gave up cruising over 10yrs ago. When we congregated on the weekend nights, and I did in everything from 5.0l to 7.2l V8's, Skyline turbo, WRX's plus whatever car I was out in, or if we turned up on the bikes, we would meet up on Colombo St, right in the middle of town, the head off out where we wouldn't bring attention to ourselves. These guys however need to show off to all and sundry, so they race, drift, wheelspin their way around the 4 avenues circling the central city. They've brought it on themselves and have no sympathy from me.

[kwaka_crasher]

Yeah but they have to catch them in the act.

You mean like.. have some proof? Heaven forbid! That's ridiculous... who the hell thought that up?

Look in my opinion this is a bit of a storm in a tea cup, I believe that most police are not going to be interested in pulling over someone solely for cruising. What this law gives the police is another arrow to nail the ones that are causing issues.

Or anyone they don't like the look of.

Oh and what's to stop it happening to me?

Absolutely nothing. And that's my very point.

[{.bLanK}G_o_D]

Yeah but they have to catch them in the act. Look in my opinion this is a bit of a storm in a tea cup, I believe that most police are not going to be interested in pulling over someone solely for cruising. What this law gives the police is another arrow to nail the ones that are causing issues.

Oh and what's to stop it happening to me? I gave up cruising over 10yrs ago. When we congregated on the weekend nights, and I did in everything from 5.0l to 7.2l V8's, Skyline turbo, WRX's plus whatever car I was out in, or if we turned up on the bikes, we would meet up on Colombo St, right in the middle of town, the head off out where we wouldn't bring attention to ourselves. These guys however need to show off to all and sundry, so they race, drift, wheelspin their way around the 4 avenues circling the central city. They've brought it on themselves and have no sympathy from me.

+1 I totally agree.
It's not a law to "bust cruisers" It an aid to help the police sort out the trouble makers.
If you have half a brain it's easy to cause a nuisance while still not actually breaking the law.

You mean like.. have some proof?

No.
All they need is reasonable doubt

When my bike gets back from the mechanics, I'll be out cruising heaps, got 10 years to catch up on. I'm not worried about this new law either. I'm not out to cause a nuisance, just out to enjoy the new wheels.

[davereid]

Look in my opinion this is a bit of a storm in a tea cup, I believe that most police are not going to be interested in pulling over someone solely for cruising. What this law gives the police is another arrow to nail the ones that are causing issues.

I absolutely agree with the principle. Boy racers spend endless $$$ depositing rubber on a corner very near my home, and I hate it with a passion.

But this law is crap. As pointed out, I fail the test by just looking for an address I cant find, a wife who wont answer her cellphone, or a wandering dog.

Its completely irrelevant that I would not be in the chosen few who get a ticket.

Once again, NZ fails the basic test of freedom, we chuck away our rights "because its only the jews.. err boy racers".

[Skyryder]

All they need is reasonable doubt

Should be be Sideshow's slogan campaign.

I got reasonable doubt about Bob Parker................along with many here in Christchurch.

Skyryder

[Skyryder]

I absolutely agree with the principle. Boy racers spend endless $$$ depositing rubber on a corner very near my home, and I hate it with a passion.

But this law is crap. As pointed out, I fail the test by just looking for an address I cant find, a wife who wont answer her cellphone, or a wandering dog.

Its completely irrelevant that I would not be in the chosen few who get a ticket.

Once again, NZ fails the basic test of freedom, we chuck away our rights "because its only the jews.. err boy racers".

Alll they need is toll for Jap cars after 9.00 for drivers with first time licences, flashy chicks sitting way to close to the driver and an extra toll for bacdk seat passanger.

My campaign slogan should I run for mayor is 'FLASHY CAR ....... FLASHY CHICK........ FLASH YA WALLET.


Skyryder

[cs363]

Yeah but they have to catch them in the act. Look in my opinion this is a bit of a storm in a tea cup, I believe that most police are not going to be interested in pulling over someone solely for cruising. What this law gives the police is another arrow to nail the ones that are causing issues.

Oh and what's to stop it happening to me? I gave up cruising over 10yrs ago. When we congregated on the weekend nights, and I did in everything from 5.0l to 7.2l V8's, Skyline turbo, WRX's plus whatever car I was out in, or if we turned up on the bikes, we would meet up on Colombo St, right in the middle of town, the head off out where we wouldn't bring attention to ourselves. These guys however need to show off to all and sundry, so they race, drift, wheelspin their way around the 4 avenues circling the central city. They've brought it on themselves and have no sympathy from me.

I think you're right - people seem to be missing the point, or maybe they didn't read the whole article - excerpt here: Council staff are proposing a one-hour period for the cruising bylaw. If drivers use the same stretch of specified road more frequently and have an overly noisy vehicle or are in a convoy, they will breach the bylaw.

I really can't see some innocent lost tourist or a sales rep etc trying to find their way round having any issue with this. Geez, I nearly always end up getting lost in Chch's one-way system when I visit and end up going round several times to find where I'm supposed to be and I'm not losing any sleep over this.

[Flip]

Right on the nail CS363. If you drive up the same street repeatedly at night in a noisy vehicle in a convoy they can nail your ass. Its a strange by-law that targets the behavoiur of a specif group of road users.

Davereid I see this more as using the law to stop a dangeriously disruptive and anti social group in their tracks, a bit like stopping the behaviour of brown shirts in the early 1930's before they became the Nazi party. It's the average folk in Christchurch who have demanded the Govt do some thing. If the boi racers were being treated like Jews we would be building extermination camps.

[davereid]

I didn't see the bit about being in convoy and excessive noise before.

I guess I'm just old enough to have watched NZ (and more so the UK and AUS), quietly morph from countries where its citizens had rights to countries where they don't.

Once upon a time there was a presumption of innocence, and an important principle that you don't get punished unless you are proven in court to have committed a crime.

We dumped that one with earlier boy racer legislation. Now you lose your licence and car if the policeman alleges you lost traction. No mucking around with the courts there !

In the UK you no longer have the right to remain silent, and a majority verdict in a trial will do !

I completely sympathise with the poor old residents of Christchurch, who quiet correctly have had enough. And I can't offer a better solution.

But a law like this could affect bikers on a group run, it could affect a group of motor-caravanners looking for a park, or a poker run car rally etc etc etc.

When we approve it by saying "yes we fit the definition sometimes, but they aren't looking for us, we are only on a poker run..." we have let our guard down, and may one day come to regret it.

[Toaster]

Hey Spank.... are you going to introduce an I.Q. test for new members at some stage? Please?

[onearmedbandit]

I didn't see the bit about being in convoy and excessive noise before.

I guess I'm just old enough to have watched NZ (and more so the UK and AUS), quietly morph from countries where its citizens had rights to countries where they don't.

What about the 'rights' of those who have a problem with those who cause the problem in the first instance?

Once upon a time there was a presumption of innocence, and an important principle that you don't get punished unless you are proven in court to have committed a crime.

And once upon a time it was safe to leave your keys in your car and your house unlocked while you slept at night. And once upon a time people wouldn't have ripped off 'honesty boxes' from outside farms selling fruit and veges. Should we blame the farmer for taking away what was once a fantastic way of getting cheap fresh produce simply because of a few theives? Society has changed in a lot of ways.

But a law like this could affect bikers on a group run, it could affect a group of motor-caravanners looking for a park, or a poker run car rally etc etc etc.

When we approve it by saying "yes we fit the definition sometimes, but they aren't looking for us, we are only on a poker run..." we have let our guard down, and may one day come to regret it.

The bylaw would have to be severely modified to fit the scenario you propose.

All in all I'm really not about extra regulation and further laws to shape society, but if enough people complain, and they have, what is the government to do? If the guys cruising in their cars took it out of town or up the hills this would not be an issue, but instead they race around the 4 avenues. Hello, that's asking for trouble. We used to gridlock Colombo street every Friday and Saturday night in our lowered, loud, obnoxious cars. It would be bumper to bumper from the Square to Milton Street in Sydenham. Never had problems with the locals or police then. Sure they'd have checkpoints etc, but never ever was there any talk of bylaws to limit our activities. That's mostly down to no high speed driving, fuck it was impossible.

[imdying]

The only travesty here is that many people have been asking for action for years, with no relief in sight, and yet that stupid Bradford bitch has managed to foist upon us a law that nobody in the country wanted.

[peasea]

The only travesty here is that many people have been asking for action for years, with no relief in sight, and yet that stupid Bradford bitch has managed to foist upon us a law that nobody in the country wanted.

And people think America's weird.

[markh14]

here is the chch bylaw:

http://ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/newsme...201002113.aspx

Cruising is defined in the Land Transport Act 1998 as driving repeatedly in the same direction over the same section of a road in a motor vehicle in a manner that—

(a) draws attention to the power or sound of the engine of the motor vehicle being driven; or

(b) creates a convoy that—

(i) is formed otherwise than in trade; and

(ii) impedes traffic flow

The proposed bylaw will also give the Council the power to set the period of time that must elapse between each time a driver drives on a specified road for the driver to avoid being regarded as cruising. Council is also consulting on, a proposal for this to be 60 minutes.

The Council has been advised that the proposed bylaw has no inconsistencies with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.

So a convoy of bikers driving to a friends house to pick a friend up in a convoy that causes traffic to backup, and come back within 60 minutes down the same street would be "cruising". I'm surprised it supposedly doesn't breach the bill of rights because i think the bill of rights give everyone freedom of movement.
Just imagine if this law covered people walking on the footpath in a group to their friends house and back within 60 minutes and caused other people on the footpath to have to walk slower.

As far as i know you can play music on your car stereo in public as loud as you want and you can rev your car as loud as you want in public, so i don't know why you'd fine someone for revving their engine when it aint a crime to rev it.

[Patrick]

As far as i know you can play music on your car stereo in public as loud as you want and you can rev your car as loud as you want in public, so i don't know why you'd fine someone for revving their engine when it aint a crime to rev it.

Vehicle emitting excessive noise = (from memory) $50 fine and 20 or 25 demerits. This includes revving and sterio noise.