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More than 130 boy racers have been charged for driving noisy vehicles and 60 dangerous cars were ordered off the road in a police blitz on Friday night.
Faulty cars with cut-down suspensions, tinted windows, worn tyres and other modifications affecting safety were targeted in the nationwide crackdown and new law changes allowed police to charge drivers over excessive vehicle noise.
National operations manager for road, police inspector Carey Griffiths, said officers in Upper Hutt stopped one vehicle that had no exhaust system.
Another eight vehicles were impounded due to unpaid fines and Whangarei police spoke to 10 motorists who owed fines totalling more than $100,000.
Meanwhile, in Christchurch police are prosecuting 39 drivers for driving excessively noisy vehicles. A law change has reduced the fine for driving a noisy vehicle from $250 to $50 but has introduced a new penalty of 25 demerit points.
The change means drivers will lose their licences rather than accumulate fines they can't pay.