KEY POINTS:
More than 500 cars from Dunedin, Gore and Invercargill are among the more than 500 who face prosecution after a weekend police blitz in Christchurch that saw 49 vehicles taken off the road and 21 people arrested.
Operation Hornet was a high profile campaign targeting boy racers on Friday and Saturday night, to coincide with the Auto Salon Showcase car show in Christchurch, Canterbury road policing manager Inspector Derek Erasmus said.
Car show organisers have washed their hands of boy racer activity coinciding with the event.
Fifty police staff from Canterbury were joined by two vehicle testing officers from Land Transport New Zealand and nine collections staff from the Ministry of Justice.
"The campaign was aimed at removing as many vehicles from the road as possible for unpaid fines or for being in a dangerous condition," Mr Erasmus said.
"We were very successful in this with 36 cars being seized by bailiffs for unpaid fines, and 31 cars written off the road because of their condition."
Unpaid fines ranged from $100 to $30,000.
Those who could pay the fines on the spot were given that option, with $4800 collected, and those who couldn't had their vehicles seized.
Police concentrated on four streets in the central city, especially Bealey and Fitzgerald Avenues where business owners and residents have been subjected to high levels of vehicle noise.
Most of those from outside Christchurch who face prosecution came from Nelson and Blenheim.
"Many staff commented on traffic being lighter than at previous event weekends," Mr Erasmus said.
"This may have been due to publicity about police activity and the enforcement tactics used".
Last year police seized more than 40 vehicles and ordered another 50 off the road because of mechanical faults. Auto Salon spokesman Cisco Corea said the show was intended as a family event and similar shows in Auckland and Wellington earlier this year did not cause trouble for police. He blamed a small number of irresponsible drivers unrelated to the show for the trouble.
"It's not the show's competitor's out on the street causing trouble."
The boy racer blitz coincided with the death of a pedestrian and a stabbing in known boy racer areas of New Plymouth on Friday night.
Cain John Longstaff, 19, of New Plymouth was struck by a car and killed on Centennial Drive on the west side of the city.
A 23-year-old New Plymouth man was arrested and charged with dangerous driving causing death.
About the same time a man was stabbed on the other side of town at a large gathering of boy racers in the Bell Block industrial area.
PULLED OVER
* 31 cars ordered off the road due to their condition.
* 36 cars seized for unpaid fines.
* 2 cars impounded for 28 days for sustained loss of traction.
* 5 arrests and impounds for disqualified driving.
* 16 drink drivers arrested.
* 522 other prosecutions including 91 for speed, 129 for licence breaches and 49 for not wearing a seatbelt.
-Staff reporter and NZPA
