Mass bike ride fuels six arrests

Police have arrested six people and impounded 10 motorbikes after a mass ride in Auckland yesterday.

Witnesses said about 60 motorcyclists were pulling wheelies and burnouts along East Auckland’s Tamaki Drive. Footage also shows stunts along Auckland’s Southwestern Motorway.

Counties Manukau road policing manager Kay Lane said police responded to several calls about a large group of dirt bikes and other vehicles.

“Further action is likely against those involved and we have a number of ongoing inquiries and CCTV footage to review,” Lane said.

“These riders showed a complete disregard for other motorists and placed themselves and others at risk.”

Aside from the six arrests, a number of infringements were issued to riders from the group.

“We would like to thank the public for their cooperation and patience and we want to reassure the community that we don’t tolerate offending on our roads,” Lane said. “We will continue to monitor group bike rides and offending on the roads will be investigated and follow-up action taken.”

It is not the first time a large group of motorcyclists have taken to Auckland’s streets to perform bold stunts over a long weekend.

Over Waitangi weekend on February 6, motorcyclists were filmed pulling wheelies and doing burnouts in the Waterview Tunnel and along the Southern Motorway. One video showed a wheelie on a dirt bike for more than 12 minutes through the 4.2km tunnel.

One person was arrested and charged with dangerous driving in relation to the Waitangi ride and Lane said the incident was still being investigated.