Car wrecks in Katikati an ‘eyesore’

This car was left on the side of the road for weeks along Waterford Rd, gradually having parts stolen from it.

Crashed cars in Katikati are being left on the roadside for weeks.

Local resident Vicky (last name withheld) can’t understand why crashed cars are left for two to three weeks sometimes, giving way to more crime as the cars are sometimes stripped by thieves stealing parts.

The most recent car is a Suzuki Swift in Waterford Reserve which crashed two to three weeks ago.

Vicky is not sure what happened but says the car wasn’t too badly damaged and was locked up. But now thieves have stripped the car.

‘’It’s missing the motor, the whole front wheel assembly, the interior linings appear to have been taken out. They’ve pushed the car sideways to get in and they’ve cut the bamboo around the car to get to it. The petrol has been siphoned.

‘’The thieves have driven in to get the parts as you can see the heavy tyre marks. There’s also beer cans over the place so they’ve spent some time doing it.’’

The most recent wreck in Waterford Reserve has evidence of thieves spending some time taking parts of the car.

The cars are an eyesore, she says, and car fluids leaking out also pose an environmental problem.

Vicky would like to see a place where crashed cars can be taken immediately.

‘’It’s the time period it takes to finally get these cars taken away that’s the problem.

‘’It just seems like when the fire department and police exit, no one takes responsibility and the car sits there for weeks.

‘’If they had a yard where they could be taken immediately or within 24 hours while insurance is being checked etc, it would save all the theft of parts.

‘’Fire or police should have the ability to instruct someone to come and collect cars and store them in a secure manner until owners decide what to do,” she says.

There was also a Mazda Demio on Waterford Rd about two months ago, she says, which had hit the pedestrian crossing and was taken to the side of the road.

‘’Within a couple of days, the radiator was stolen out of it and then just more and more was taken from it .’’

She also recalls a Mazda Demio close to Tetley Rd that remained there for at least a week a few months back.

Sergeant Steve Hindmarsh says it is illegal to take parts off crashed vehicles or siphon gas unless there has been express consent given by the owners. ‘’Parts going missing. This is a common problem when a vehicle has been left abandoned for a while. Some people decide that the vehicle must be abandoned and help themselves to parts.’’

Western Bay of Plenty District Council compliance and monitoring manager Dougal Elvin says car crashes are handled by the police, fire service, and insurance companies.

‘’We always inform the police of the abandoned vehicle and try to contact the last known owner before we remove the vehicle. This can take some time, as we give the owner 10 days to respond.

‘’Even though we have seen an increase in the number of vehicles which have been abandoned on the roads, we don’t know why people do this. We suspect it’s because it may cost more than the car is worth to tow it away and get it fixed, so the owners just abandon the vehicle.

‘’When vehicles are identified as abandoned, we give the owner a chance to remove the vehicle before we do, as the towing and storage incumber significant costs to the owner. If the vehicle is causing harm to the environment, we act immediately to minimise the harm caused.’’

Council can respond to vehicles that appear to have been abandoned on a road but Waka Kotahi cover state highways.

If the council doesn’t hear from the owner within 10 days, they organise for the vehicle to be scrapped with all costs associated with towing, storage, and destruction of the vehicle back to the last registered owner.

‘’If the car is already in a poor condition to the extent that the car would essentially be of very little value, then we arrange for the car to be scrapped straight away.’’