Extend Boy Racer Lesson
Candor Trust
In noting a plummet in boy racer offences detected, the Police Minister Judith Collins has suggested that finance
companies may be repossessing cars "under threat" of her crusher. If so this is a good way to skin one loose wild cat.
However Candor Trust has been concerned that the emphasis on boy racer activities comes at the expense of necessary
Police resourcing to areas of focus that are far and away more likely to reap rewards in life savings.
Such as attending to the removal from roads the noxious presence of repeat drug drivers, and catching dime a dozen drug
drivers. They could do with some legislative help for this, given NZ is behind other countries in not random drug
testing, and Judges confiscate just 1/60 drink drivers cars.
It is pathetic; surely many drink drivers cars are financed and if their
backers knew they would (not could) lose their car next time, then reoffending would drop at least as much as the
claimed 18% drop in boy racer offending.
Just as it has overseas eg in New York where under the zero homicide plan (broken windows) car confiscation was made a
real not outlandish prospect for DUI crims. Boy racing activity is shown in the research on it to be a far lesser danger
than impaired driving.
But it would seem the Police Minister is only interested in tackling junior offenders with pimped out cars, not in
placing pressure on those of her own vintage cruising about in luxury death machines, while under the influence, and
posing a great risk.
Her spin Drs are pushing that only Kiwi communities can change the culture of impaired driving. This is patent nonsense,
it can't be done without appropriate legal structures - and we note Judith Collins has never proposed that only Kiwi
communities could change the boy racer culture.
One message the lawmakers need to register - threats to crush bad boys cars aren't enough to haul in our outrageous
youth tolls. The lack of a commitment to safety engineering of highways makes smkarter enforcement imperative.
Random drug test and confiscate repeat or bad drunk drivers cars as soon as legislators ink can dry, and the Government
just may be able to do better than Labour in the long haul. Judith needs to look at a set up whereby her crusher or
confiscators can register interests in identified vehicular weaponry. And seize it in time or pressure the arms dealers
to.
The Nats have a challwenge ahead if they value road safety. Labour took us into the unenviable position of having the
highest death rate per vehicle km traveled in the OECD, and took us far from the coutries achieving their 2010 goals for
toll reductions, or the average
achievement date for EU members of 2018.
NZ is in the worst echelon with the date for first world safety levels extended out by Labours incompetent following of
incompetent advice to 2030. National needs to pull finger, and build on it's car removal biz, taking it to appropriate
targets well beyond the boy racers, for success.
ENDS