Police fight boy racers on Facebook

Tyre marks lace the road surface. Photo / Supplied

Hawke's Bay police have taken to Facebook to battle boy-racers after a pair of fatal crashes in the region.

The latest addition to the Hawke's Bay police Facebook page pulls no punches - stating "if you don't want to keep seeing your friends die, help us out".

It appeals for people to come forward with any information about boy racers' activities, in an effort to stop more deaths on the roads.

"We're doing our best to stop this stupid stuff happening... But we need some help - from you. If you know who is involved in these groups, we want to hear about it. Who's leading the trains and setting them up? If we don't get to the bottom of all this, more of you guys will end up either in hospital or on a mortuary slab," it reads.

Within two hours of the 'What's Going on With Boy Racers?' message appearing just after 9am yesterday there had been 151 "likes" and 106 comments, with the majority critical of what was happening on the Bay roads.

"We are expecting some robust debate and there is already some real community outrage about what's happening starting to emerge ... locals won't stand for it," Eastern District communications manager Kris McGehan said.

"We want to get the message directly to boy racers and we want them to realise we are taking these issues very seriously."

Two major crashes in the Bay over the past month have been put down to speeding cars - racing or in high-speed "chains".

The crashes cost the life of 18-year-old Maree Shafer on February 19 and left 21-year-old Frances Millar in a coma in Hawke's Bay Hospital's intensive care unit after a crash on Te Mata-Mangateretere Rd early last Saturday. Both were passengers.

"We're trying real hard to keep our roads safe, yet there's a bunch of people who seem to think that racing and hooning around the place is cool," said Ms McGehan.

"They seem to forget that while they're getting their thrills, they're also putting people's lives in danger."

Facebook would get directly to the drivers intent on pushing the limits and breaking the law, as well as people who wanted to step in and help police.

Ms McGehan said police were also monitoring individual Facebook sites and other social media in a bid to get a heads-up on what the boy racer fraternity was up to.

The site asks for people to call Sergeant Clint Adamson at Hawke's Bay Police on 8310700 if they have any information about what they fear could lead to danger on the roads, or leave information anonymously on the Crimestoppers line 0800 555 111.