In a bid to combat burnouts and street racing in Flaxmere, a Hastings District Councillor has proposed building a skidpad to deter unlawful behavior on the suburban streets. 

First-term Flaxmere Ward councilor Peleti Oli said there needed to be some "action".

"If you take a drive around Flaxmere, almost every street is covered with tyre marks and that's obviously from the burnouts and it's been like this for a long time. Our streets are unsafe. Our kids can't even walk down to the park anymore because of the fear of being hit by someone trying to do a burnout during broad daylight. 

"It's now getting to the point where we are pretty much waiting for someone to be killed, that's what I truly believe. There have been too many close encounters where people have lost control so that's why I don't want to sit around and just do nothing about it." 

Oli says the "sad thing" is that many those in the community know who these people are, but some don't speak up in fear of being "found out".

"The snitching culture is still strong everywhere. No one wants to nark on anyone so it's how are we going to move forward. You're not narking, you're just trying to keep our streets safe from the perpetrators." 

He suggested the idea of a skidpad or drag race tracks as a way to "start a conversation" after seeing photo after photo on Facebook of damage caused by the illegal street racing activity.

"I was responding to the cries of the Flaxmere community because they've had enough and I've had enough."

The Facebook poll he created asking that question garnered just under 1000 votes, with 742 people for the idea, compared to 210 against. 

"Usually, I'm encouraged not to join in with the conversations online due to my position as a councilor but it's a personal thing for me, why should I just sit there and watch my community fend for themselves? I'm in a position where I can promote a solution or spark the flame to start the process." 

He said there has been "a lot of good debate" from Flaxmere residents. "The car enthusiasts feel that if you give them a skidpad, that will be the answer to some of the offences that have been happening on public streets. Why don't they take it to a safe and controlled environment so that's why I put the poll up."

However, fellow Flaxmere Ward councillor Henare O'Keefe, now in his fifth term, said this is not the way to go.

"I love my fellow councillor but I don't believe having a skidpad is the way to go. It's an astronomical cost and there are a lot of barriers even before you get out the starting block. But is that really a solution? If you look in today's climate the poverty gap is getting wider and wider and if you are a ratepayer is that where you want your money spent?" 

He says this issue has been going on for some time and is not unique to Flaxmere. "I have thought long and hard about this and I believe, in the first instance, the police need to get the traffic controllers back on the road.

While he understands it is "certainly not the silver bullet", he says it is a big part of the solution. "I think what attracts these boy racers is that it's illegal and it's a challenge to the law. It's the thrill of being caught."

In July last year, the two councillors called a meeting which was attended by council officers, roading police and members of the community to discuss this very issue.

At that meeting, residents marked “hot spots” on maps of the suburb to add to the information police and Council had as they considered policing and engineering options.

Eastern District Road Policing Manager Inspector Matt Broderick says police are actively working on this issue, but need public help to ensure those responsible for this illegal activity are held to account.

"What tends to happen is we have spikes of activity in different places rather like you would have any other crime type but we need the public to tell us where that activity is so that we can deploy our resources accordingly and we will come and we will do it," he said.

For the month of December police impounded 68 cars across Hawke's Bay. Of that, 24 cars were impounded between December 24 and January 1. 

Generally speaking, Broderick says they take 70 cars off the road every month. While those numbers are not exclusively for illegal street racing activity, Broderick says it shows that when the public does report these incidents to police, they take action.

Where safe to do so, people should capture the behaviour on film, or failing that, provide a registration number to police. 

By doing so, police are able to prosecute those who commit this type of offending under the Illegal Street Racing Act. The offender's car is impounded for 28 days and given a non-operation order which means that the car cannot be driven again until it has been checked for a new warrant.

On top of that, if police are able to find out who was driving the vehicle at the time, that person would go to court and receive a "fairly substantial fine" as well as disqualification.

"But for us to be able to do that we need the community's help." 

While he understands some community members may be reluctant to become involved, he says it doesn't always mean that they need to go to court, as people can provide registration numbers and information anonymously.

"We need to make inquiries and we need to try and get that car off the road and we need to try and stop that offending but that doesn't need to be at the expense of somebody giving away their anonymity and turning up at court.

He says a longer-term solution requires all parties including councils, road controlling authorities, and communities to come up with a strategy that makes it less desirable for that behaviour to take place. 

"It happens all over the country where we get little spikes in this kind of behaviour. Perhaps the offenders themselves don't realise what the implications of their behaviour are. For them, it's five minutes of fun making noise and smoke and emulating some of their heroes that they've seen on television movies and not in the real world. They don't understand the danger, they don't understand the costs or the implications on their community and they wont until we turn up at the door and take their car off them.

"And of course that's only that one person that feels that. The community that's engaged in that behaviour doesn't so we need to make it clear to that community that if you're going to behave in this way we're going to come for you and we're going to take your car off you." 

A Hastings District Council spokesperson said Council officers have been having active conversations with Roading Police about this issue, as it is an enforcement issue.

"Whenever members of the public see instances of speeding or burn-outs occurring, as always, we encourage them to notify Police as soon as possible with location, time etc. for the most timely response." 

He repeated the sentiment that burn-outs and speeding is an issue that is widespread "both in our district and nation-wide".

"In terms of a skidpad, this is something that will require a broader discussion among Council and our community," he said. 

Residents should phone 111 the minute it started; or 105 or Crimestoppers (0800 555 111) if they were calling later with information on an incident.

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