The Big Squash

The first car to fall prey under the colloquially dubbed “boy racer laws”, the Land Transport (Enforcement Powers) Amendment Act 2009 and the Sentencing (Vehicle Confiscation) Amendment Act 2009, was crushed on 21 June this year in Lower Hutt.

Section 129A of the Sentencing Act 2002 introduced a three strike approach for repeat offenders ,where a third offence would see their cars being sentenced to death by crushing!

While the first destruction of a car has taken some four years since the legislation first came into effect, there are approximately 116 drivers who are on their second strike. It is thus anticipated that busy times lie ahead for executioners.

The laws have so far proved to be a strong deterrent as street racing offences have reportedly decreased by 17 percent for the period 1 January to 31 October 2011.