Hoon Car Kills Kid In Christchurch

Many of our regular readers already know that New Zealand has world’s second highest road death and injury rates, twice that of countries like the UK. Much of the tragic loss of life and injuries can be attributed to two major factors – poor roads and bad driving, especially by ‘hoons’ or ‘boy racers’ and people under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

In the 12 months to 21 May 2010 126 people aged 24 and under have been killed on NZ roads.
For many years kids as young as 15 have been allowed to drive whatever they can get their hands on in NZ, including high performance cars and there is no legal requirement for them to hold so as much as third party insurance, often with tragic consequences.

It may come as a shock to outsiders when they realise that this sort of thing happens in a country that is allegedly ‘such a great place to raise kids.’

A four-year-old boy, who was walking with his six-year-old brother and mother on Linwood Ave, Christchurch (the city is the hoon capital of NZ) died after he was hit by a car that lost control in wet conditions, shortly after 5pm last night. The driver had been seen drifting before the collision:

“The car slid from side to side on the road before climbing the footpath and hitting the children. One News described the driver as a boy racer doing drifts.
The six-year-old boy is in serious but stable condition at Christchurch Hospital.
Police were talking to the 18-year-old male driver.”

Linwood Avenue relative to other crash locations

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Fatal and serious crashes Christchurch City 2008

source

A report in the Herald added

“Linwood Ave is a long stretch of road with multiple lanes, and residents said it was often used as a racetrack by boy racers. The road was wet yesterday after rain during the day.”

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Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the deceased child, and to his brother who was injured in the collision.

This tragic loss of a child’s life and the injuries of another,  may prove to be the last straw for the residents of Christchurch, who have endured a plague of hoons in and around the city for many years, police seem powerless to control the situation and there are bound to be calls to deal with the problem before any more innocent lives are lost.

It has understandably caused an outrage in the community, reflected in comments left in multiple threads on the Trademe boards, this is part of one of them:

Boy Racers your time is up
-”After today why would we want any car that’s a boy racer car on our roads.”

-”a small child was killed tonite by an out of control young male driver in chch”

-”Whatever, Judges are complete PUSSYS when it comes to sensible sentencing. Maybe if one our them had their kids killed by a boyracer we may see some common sense sentencing.”

-”Just heard the news re 1 child killed and another seriously injured when a boy racer car went out of control in Christchurch”

-”I saw the news headline but not the rest. Oh the poor family – crush him AND the car.”

-”Enough is enough!!!!!!!”

-”Agree time is up. They have had their warning and the softly softly approach. . Bring out the crusher and take the toys away. The ones that are playing by the rules you should be on the case of those indiots out there that have no respect for anyone.”

-”This was one driver, driving a boy racer style car (no eveidence he *is* a boy racer) and he must stand up and take responsiblity for his actions whether he was out of control on purpose or he just made a mistake – as everyone does. And to be fair, “ma and pa average” have more accidents every day (but that is not newsworthy) than Boy Racers ever have in month (as per police comment)”

-”you dont often see ma and pa average kill girls while speeding down fendalton road, or kill pedestrians while racing down Fitsgerald ave or kill innocent drivers while drag racing on ferry road. Do I need to continue? Accidents happen but deaths caused through sheer stupidity behind the wheel of a car should carry a murder charge. Fact is all the above examples were drivers between 18 and 25 in boy racer cars. Downplay it as much as you like but here in ChCh they are a problem and it is time they got sorted out once and for all.”

-”You don’t see it because the media get more of a response when a “boy racer” is involved. So they make more effort to give it a higher public profile. I lived in chch for a long time. Don’t tell me about the problem you have. It’s not half as bad as you would like to believe. I would have called myself more of a boy racer in my 2 door ford laser than half the kids rolling around that town at night. Majority of those kids just do laps because they have nothing better to do. Yes, there are some that are reckless but you will find them in every city. Christchurch happens to have a good circuit for it too, long, wide open streets, unlike somewhere such as wellington. And there are more houses living next to those roads, which means more people notice the sound of boy racers.
If wellington had the same type of streets, you would notice the boy racers more often and no doubt more accidents.”

-”I agree that it’s not just boy racers and If you’re a boy racer and a responsible one then I don’t have any issue with you. But with young people, fast powerful cars, peer pressure, maybe liquor and bravado combinne to give a rather leathal mixture.”

-”Look. Once someone has killed in a car, they KNOW not to be reckless again. The sentencing is nothing but more punishment. They will be tormented by what they have done. And don’t give me that ” Well they should be tormented and punished more blah blah blah” bullshit. The trick is to get through to them before they do it. It’s not the car that’s the problem, it’s the mindset.”

-”from the news report: A young eye-witness told The Press he saw a car “screeching” around a corner before hitting the group. Car tyres only screech when they’ve lost traction mainly due to excessive speed. My friend’s 20 year old son had an accident on his motorbike last week, doing 50km around a greasy tight bend, lost control, skidded along the road for 5 metres with the bike on top of one leg. Thankfully he hit no-one and nothing. He said it was his fault for driving too fast for the wet conditions and will take that corner at 30km from now on. Now THAT is the right (grown up) attitude.”

-”Last week there was a auction that got banned promoting Boy racers. Most of the ppls that came onto the thread supported Br’s. I really hope you are reading this thread tonight. It was a matter on time before things like this happen. That poor kid didnt deserve to die, When are the Rb’s going to learn. How many more kids have to die?”

-”Over and over again these young clowns are bringing misery and heartbreak to others and their own families because of this entrenched “must go fast” culture they have all subscribed to. This reckless disregard for the saftey of others coupled with that dip shit attitude of being ten foot tall and bullet proof. Adding to that is the fact that these young idiots have easy access to high performance vehicles which do require a reasonable amount of skill and experience to operate.”

-”in another thread someone says they have seen that car doing skids in the neighbourhood. You only have to look at the damage in the photos to see this guy was out of control and kids on the TV news said he came sliding down the road!I hope you will visit your mate when he is in prison – he will need your support. An 18 year old + high powered turbo rear wheel drive + wet road = recipe for disaster.” more…

In Feb 2009 in an attempt to rid the city of this problem, police took 67 boy racers off the streets of the city, in 2007 police prosecuted 500 people after a sting targeting boy racers in the area. However, these efforts seem to be futile if the comments left on the Trademe threads are anything to go by. more

Isn’t it time that long, straight stretches of road like this in Christchurch were fitted with speed reduction measures, isn’t it time that compulsory age weighted insurance was made mandatory in NZ.
Who wants to live in a city, or a country,  that’s little more than a race track?

Today's posts - click here

Police Car In Fatal Pile-Up In North Shore - Updated

The day after police minister Judith Collins called police joyrides on Target Road Primary's playing fields a "bit of fun" and said she wasn't concerned by it (See "Collins backs police joyrides at school gala") a police car has been involved in a multi-vehicle crash in Albany, North Shore.

North Shore is the same borough that Target Road School is in.

At least one person has been killed and another is in hospital. One report said:

"The collision happened as a police car was passing through the intersection, which has been left scattered with glass and debris.Vehicles involved include a courier van and a jeep.

Prime News reporter Greta Lawson said the police car had its siren on at the time of the crash. "It was a male police officer driving with a female police officer in the passenger seat. And it was not a pursuit - the police here have told us that they were on their way to a different job."

One of five vehicles involved was on its roof and another was a police car, a witness told Radio New Zealand."

View Larger Map, the junction was close to Pinehurst School
Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased person and the other people injured in the incident.

Update
One eye witness gave a calm and frank account of the crash to a Herald reporter - watch the video HERE.  She said she saw the cop car coming the opposite direction with its lights on at a very high speed and hit the black truck, the truck then came down on another car, the cop car then hit another two cars, hit her and travelled another 50/60 metres down the road, fortunately she was unharmed though shaken. Her account seems very different to the official press release issued to Voxy earlier in the day.

The Voxy release did say that an elderly male motorist died in the incident. We'd like to offer deepest sympathies to his family.

734 Police cars crashed in the last year
Figures obtained by the Dominion Post under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that:

"734 police cars have crashed in the past year, only 61 crashed while pursuing speeding vehicles.

Officers involved in car crashes, which included scrapes and dings, were usually dealt with through infringement notices, although court action was brought in serious cases.

In 2008, Auckland Constable Aaron Holmes was convicted of aggravated careless use of a motor vehicle causing injury after an accident outside a primary school* in 2007. He crashed into a street lamp, which fell on the head of a teenager and left him in a coma. Holmes was travelling 80kmh in a 50kmh zone for no good reason.

Four officers in the past five years faced serious criminal convictions such as manslaughter."

*Owairaka Primary on Richardson Road.

The death toll on New Zealand's roads so far this year was at 38 yesterday, already higher than January and February combined last year.

For background see yesterday's post "Police cars "joyriding" on school playing fields"

Today's posts - click here

Police Cars "Joyriding" On School Playing Fields. Video

As if the death and injury toll isn't already high enough on New Zealand's roads! This defies belief and makes a mockery of every road safety campaign ever made, in New Zealand or anywhere else for that matter. What sort of message is driving like this sending out to young people in New Zealand?


Someone who was at a fair at Target Road Primary, a decile 6 school in North Shore, Auckland made the above YouTube video of two police cars "careening" on the school playing fields giving rides to kids:

"New Zealand Police show the public how to drift, donut, endanger children and make a mockery of the govt's safety message"

There were no safety barriers erected and no indication of whether the drivers were even insured to "sell rides" (the money went to the school) on school property. The cars were racing around within feet of spectators and a bouncy castle. It's a far cry from traditional school fair activities and one has to question both the drivers' and the school's wisdom in allowing this type of fund raiser to occur on a school playing field in an urban environment.

Is it any wonder that figures obtained under the Official Information Act by the Dominion Post reveal that a staggering total of 734 police cars have crashed in the last year of which only 61 crashed whilst perusing another vehicle, 100 cars have been written off in the last 5 years yet only only 4 officers have received serious criminal convictions.

The final irony is that there is a particularly fast stretch of road outside the school and the speed limit is often rigorously enforced during school times. In 2006 the school's principal welcomed North Shore City Council's environment and infrastructure committee's approval of a speed limit of 40kmh within 250m of the school boundary. Flashing electronic road signs warning motorists to slow down are used within the zone, as well as static school zone signs.

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The day after this post was made a police car was involved in a fatal collision with 5 cars in the same borough see Police Car in Fatal Pile Up on North Shore.

In the year the video was filmed there were 366 deaths and 15,266 injuries (2560 serious and 12,706 minor injuries) on roads in New Zealand


Today's posts - click here

Christchurch's "Terrorism" Hits World News

From an article in  The Press by Ian Steward

"Christchurch's boy racers have again hit the headlines overseas, with a German magazine saying residents are afraid of car-based "terrorism".

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said the article was an accurate reflection of Christchurch: "It's a problem we have. It is something that happens here and it's an interesting social phenomenon, which I presume is the angle they're coming from."

Geo, a German magazine similar to National Geographic, devoted its October-November issue to New Zealand, with 14 positive articles on subjects ranging from kakapo and conservation to rugby, fish and chips, baches and adventure tourism.

The article on Christchurch was called "Frenzy of the youth". It featured pictures of boy racers in belligerent poses, drinking, wheel-spinning and hanging out on streets such as Moorhouse Ave...

View Larger Map of Moorhouse Ave.

...A German television programme devoted an episode to Christchurch's car culture in January. The German article details a night with Matt and Megan, who go to parties at crossroads and indulge in illegal street racing to relieve boredom.

The article said Matt put his telephone number on his rear window so others could contact him.
"Perhaps for a little race out at McLeans Island. Or for a meeting at the supermarket car park on Main South Road for a bit of drifting? On an oil patch, to hear the new album from Eminem, or see whatever else is up."

The article focuses on statistics showing that Christchurch people, particularly women and the elderly, are afraid in their city after dark...."

For more of his report see link 

Right Wing Vigilante Group

The garden city has been getting some really bad press recently, it wasn't so long ago that it was being forced to defend itself against the dubious honour of being dubbed the nation's crime capital.

Just yesterday Mr Steward wrote an article which began with  "A 'white pride' group, Right Wing Resistance (RWR), claims to be patrolling New Brighton streets that "the police and the system has all but given up on". The piece went on to explain how the group, who some would label "skinheads" have taken it upon themselves to do something because the locals "were getting very upset with youths, particularly Polynesian youths, standing over people and vandalising."

For other blog posts about social issues in Christchurch see:
Everyday 'race hate' rife in Christchurch
67 boy racers taken off the streets of Christchurch
Another schoolkid injured in racist attack
Christchurch's drunken mayhem
Christchurch's weekend battleground
British tourist wishes he'd been warned about the violence

67 Boy Racers Taken Off the Streets of Christchurch

Following a weekend blitz on boy racers (hoons) in the City 67 vehicles were impounded for unpaid fines or being illegally modified, 17 people were arrested for minor offences and more than 300 infringement notices were issued.

Christchurch city has long been plagued by hoons and this latest round of arrests in just the latest of many attempts to curb the problem

Earlier this month a 17 year old youth was arrested for being the person responsible in a group of boy racers for assaulting a lone police officer with a bottle.

In March of last year one motel owner Radio New Zealand that the preceding weekend had been the worst for boy racers in the five years he had been operating in the city. Some of his guests left vowing never to return to either Christchurch or New Zealand, and that he himself was thinking of doing the same:

"The sooner we can get out of Christchurch the better. We've had enough and we're not the only ones. It's affecting our bottom line, it's affecting our health and it's just so unpleasant."

In Sept 2007 Police prosecuted 500 people following a sting targeting boy racers in the the city.

'Boy Racer' Death and Injury Statistics
It's difficult to put a number these but Land Transport NZ issues annual figures for deaths and for injuries in a range of age groups. The overwhelmingly largest statistics are assigned to the 15-24 year group, which is where I guess the majority of 'boy racers' are going to sit.

In the 12 months up to to January 2009 there were 96 deaths (51 drivers, 45 passengers) in this group and an astounding 4290 injuries (2814 drivers, 1476 passengers)

Road Crash Data

Publicly available data on road death and injuries in New Zealand is as follows

• 366 deaths and 15,266 injuries (2560 serious and 12,706 minor injuries) in 2008. Official NZTA figures.* please see below

• Crash rate of 26 and a casualty rate of 36 people per 10,000 population. 5 year averaged data.

• Total deaths in 2009 - 384.

• Deaths so far in 2010 - 29, same period last year - 20.

• Social costs of crashes 2008 -  $4,293,000,000. link

• Total population of NZ - 4,311,000.

For further information please see NZ Transport Agency statistics

NZ is the Second Worst Place in World for Road Deaths from car occupant collisions
Statistics gathered by the site NationMaster.com place New Zealand as the second highest country in the world for deaths resulting from car occupant collision with car, pick-up truck or van (per capita) with 35.6877 deaths per million people. Way ahead of the USA which is ranked 15, Australia 17 and UK 37.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office have issued the following NZ Travel Advice: link

Local Travel

"There have been a number of tragic accidents involving British visitors; these also include extreme sporting accidents. If you intend to participate in extreme sports you should check that the company is well established in the industry and your insurance covers you. If you intend visiting remote areas, you should check with local tourist authorities for advice before setting out. You should ensure that you register your details with a Visitor Information Centre or family or friends. Weather conditions can quickly become treacherous in some areas and you should keep yourself informed of regional weather forecasts.

Road Travel

 

Whilst road conditions are generally good in New Zealand, it takes a little while to get used to local driving conditions.

In 20078there were 366 road deaths in New Zealand (source: DfT).  This equates to 8.6 road deaths per 100,000 of population and compares to the UK average of 4.3 road deaths per 100,000 of population in 2008.

You are advised to read a copy of the Road Code (the official guide to traffic rules and traffic safety) before driving.  Particular attention should be given to the section covering the right of way rules, which are different from other countries.  UK driving licences are valid for use for a maximum of 12 months.

Motor insurance is not a legal requirement in New Zealand.  Therefore, even though the UK has a reciprocal Healthcare Agreement with New Zealand, private accident insurance is recommended.  This is because New Zealand law has removed the right of accident victims to sue a third party in the event of an accident.  Instead the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) helps pay for your care if you are injured as the result of an accident.  However, the ACC only covers the cost of treatment in New Zealand and delayed travel or loss of income in a third country is not covered.

For further information see our Driving Abroad page."

 * Official Statistics for serious road injuries may be unreliable. A report by the University of Otago compared police crash reports to hospital discharge data and concluded that injuries were often wrongly classified by police. They estimated that approximately 15% of injuries incorrectly classified as minor were actually life threatening.

In one NZTA report the number of serious injuries reported by police was compared to the number of people admitted to hospital with serious injuries. For the whole of the country only 34% of serious accidents were reported by police in 2008, the lowest areas for reporting were Northland 31%, Auckland 16%, Bay of Plenty 27%, Gisborne 26% and Manawatu-Wanganui 34%. The highest reporting was in Wellington at 64%. Therefore we suggest that any official data for serious injuries be treated with caution.

See also
Cycling dangers in New Zealand - see posts tagged Cycling
New Zealand Herald's Road Accidents Archive
New Zealand's dangerous roads
NZ's roads described as 'killing fields' after 14 fatalities over ANZAC weekend