‘I was beyond terrified’ - driver
Woman caught up in 300-car racer convoy
Panic gripped a woman who found herself blockaded by hundreds of street racers who took over a state highway, revving their engines and doing burnouts all over the road.
But the Cambridge resident, who has asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, says her terrifying experience was matched by her shock at the apparent indifference of the police when she asked them for help.
The woman said she had been travelling down State Highway 21 – also known as Airport Rd – south of Hamilton, on her way to pick up her partner around 11.45pm on Saturday night, when she became stuck in the middle of a street racer convoy.
She estimates there were more than 300 cars heading towards Airport Rd, near Hamilton Airport.
‘‘I didn’t think too much of being caught in the middle of the convoy while I was driving until, suddenly, all cars in front of me slowed down to a halt ... I almost bumped into it.
‘‘I eventually saw smoke coming from in front of me, with multiple cars doing burnouts 50 to 100 metres ahead of me.’’
Numerous people were getting out of their cars, and started walking to towards the smoke, she said.
‘‘Cars were dispersing left right and centre, taking over the entirety of the road . . . I started to panic.
‘‘I was blocked in. I couldn’t pass, and there were more than 100 cars behind me now, either parking up behind me, in the middle of the road, or trying to pass me.’’
Eventually, she was able to turn her car around ‘‘after making a 10-point turn’’ and headed back the way she came, and took a different turnoff down Raynes Rd to get her partner.
‘‘I remembered that I had seen a police car on the other end of Airport Rd when I first got stuck in the convoy. On my way back, the police had pulled over one of the street racers. I pulled over in a panic and told them what was going on just a few kilometres down the road.
‘‘The two policemen said they were aware. I asked if they could do something about it, or if they were heading there to check it out, as I was panicked about having been in the middle of the road block. The policemen both just shrugged their shoulders at me and carried on with their work.’’
The woman said she was confounded by this, but concluded the police simply did not have the ability to deal with such a huge meet-up.
About 15 to 20 minutes later she managed to get to her partner and headed back home – but became caught up in the convoy which was again on the move.
‘‘Multiple cars [were] driving towards us on the median strip and the wrong side of the road.’’
No police were in sight, she said.
‘‘I was beyond terrified and then angry.
‘‘The carelessness of the drivers and also the zero urgency from the police had me perplexed.’’
A police spokeswoman said the police had received ‘‘a number of calls’’ reporting street racing and anti-social-road user behaviour, on Airport Rd and in other parts of Waikato,
‘‘The carelessness of the drivers and also the zero urgency from the police had me perplexed. ’’
Cambridge resident
overnight, with up to 200 vehicles reported at times.
The police did attend Airport Rd, and a number of other locations, following these reports.
‘‘Any behaviour on our roads which endangers others and makes people feel unsafe is not acceptable.
‘‘Police prioritise attendance at calls for service by the risk to life/property. The best thing members of the public can do is provide the police with as much information as possible, at the time, so we are in the best position to respond.
‘‘We acknowledge that antisocial road user behaviour is distressing to people, and urge them to keep themselves safe, while providing police with as much information as possible to assist us. This includes registration numbers of vehicles, and any descriptions of drivers. If you can safely capture video or photographs, this is also very helpful.
‘‘If police are not in a position to issue infringement notices or speak to individuals at the time, we can and do – when able – follow up. It is not uncommon for drivers of these vehicles to receive a knock at the door in subsequent days and be issued with an infringement notice.’’