`A COFFIN ON WHEELS'

A coffin on wheels ... that's how senior police and vehicle inspectors described one car ordered off the road during a weekend police blitz on boy racers in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.
Dozens of "death traps" modified by backyard mechanics were stopped by authorities, declared unsafe and sidelined.
The combination of inexperienced drivers and unsafe cars had Western Bay police predicting it was only a matter of time before the vehicles caused serious accidents or death on the region's roads.
Of the cars inspected over Friday and Saturday night, 29 were "pink stickered" and were unable to be driven again until they were repaired, professionally inspected and passed.
Police dished out 27 warnings, issued 128 infringement notices for fines, and gave out eight traffic offence notices that will require a court appearance.
The worst car stopped during Operation Compliance was seen bumping its way along Hewletts Rd at 11.43pm on Friday. Senior Constable and crash analyst Chris Hills, who has 15 years' experience in the police, said the car was one of the worst he had seen and was a lethal weapon.
The unwarranted 24-year-old Toyota Corolla, which was incorrectly registered, was directed to On Road New Zealand where it was thoroughly examined by two inspectors.
Once stationary at the testing station, the smell of burning rubber emanated from the car.
On closer inspection it was not hard to work out why. The body of the car sat atop the tyres. There were no springs suspending the car body above the revolving wheels.
Turning the car was almost impossible as the tyres rubbed against the guards - the front left tyre had busted through and exposed a dangerous jagged metal edge.
"This could kill someone," Mr Hills told the male driver.
"It's an accident waiting to happen. It's a foolish thing to do to come out on the road with a vehicle like this."
Four others in the car stepped from the lime green death machine.
The driver, 16-year-old Rhys Fleming, revealed he had already popped a rear tyre earlier in the night.
He was not the perturbed by the officer's news.
"More people die in normal cars than these," he said. "I know it's a bit dangerous but I don't go on the motorways."
But the news from the two On Road inspectors confirmed how dangerous the car was.
"It scares me to think that I am on the same road as these death traps," Howard Cocker said.
"By getting this off the road we have potentially saved someone's life. It's the equivalent of a coffin on wheels."
Fellow inspector Lachie Cooper said: "A car like this trying to corner at speed on a normal road surface is not capable of maintaining control."
For his efforts, the young driver received $1000 in fines - $600 for operating a dangerous vehicle, $200 for an expired Warrant of Fitness and $200 for incorrect registration.
Boy racers are going to great lengths to make their cars stand out from the rest by making modifications that could have fatal consequences.
Instead of taking their cars to mechanics they are making dangerous modifications themselves.
The most common modifications included cutting suspension springs to lower the vehicle, altering the exhaust to make it louder, fattening the tyres, tinting windows and plastering stickers across rear windows.
Bald tyres, leaking brake cables, loose wheels, no springs, buckled wheel frames and painted-out windows - inspectors saw the lot during the weekend operation, aimed at detecting unsafe vehicles.
Operation head Sergeant Lester Polglase, who has 30 years' policing experience, was shocked by the number of dangerously modified cars on the roads.
"It's about their safety and other road users. It's not about tickets," he said.
"We're hoping the cars that come here pass. If they don't, they are unsafe and need to be brought up to roadworthy standard.
"It's disappointing these modified cars were not done properly. The kids are risking their lives and everyone else's."
A number of young drivers were found breaching their restricted licences by being out later than was legal or carrying other unlicensed passengers.
A number of cars found were not warranted or registered. Some were registered for the wrong class - one being registered as a tractor rather than a car.
Police used the operation to educate the young drivers and show them the dangerous components to their cars and explain the perils of driving such vehicles.
A Courts Department bailiff joined the operation checking fines and making arrangements for payment.
Three drivers set up automatic payments to pay off their outstanding fines while another had a car seized, which will be sold and used to pay for the fines.
Infringement notices were issued for unsafe modified suspensions, excessive window tinting, bald tyres or for not being roadworthy vehicles.
Most caught flouting the laws were in their teens and early 20s.
Guidelines for light vehicle modifications can be found on the Land Transport New Zealand website at www.ltsa.govt.nz