By Michael Daly of 
The scene on Wednesday on Akatarawara Rd, Upper Hutt, at the intersection with Gillespies Rd. Photo: Supplied / Stuff
A section of road in Upper Hutt is 'more rubber than road' after two days of burnouts made it a squiggly black mess.
A man who lives about 1km from the scene said he could often hear, from his house, cars doing burnouts, but that was usually at night.
But on Monday and Tuesday he had heard the burnouts during the day, as well as after dark.
He saw the result, on Akatarawa Rd at the intersection with Gillespies Rd, when he went for a walk on Wednesday.
"There's more rubber on that road than there is road," said the man, who Stuff won't name out of safety concerns.
"It's the worst I've ever seen it, but it's often bad.
"There's never been a time when that road has looked like a normal road. There's always black lines on it."
He had been told by a resident who lived close to the scene that the burnouts this week were linked to a group that lived in the area, he said.
He had moved into the area eight years ago, and burnouts had been a constant problem, probably at least once a week.
"You wake up to the sounds of cars doing burnouts at 1 and 2 o'clock in the morning," he said.
"When it gets bad like this, depending on which way the wind is blowing, it often stinks out the whole house.
"The people who live nearby must be absolutely sick of it."
Bits of rubber and steel from car tyres were strewn along a section of Akatarawara Road, probably 1-2km long, running up towards Akatarawara Cemetery.
Burnout marks were even visible at the local cemetery.
File photo. Photo: 123RF
He had contacted police several times over the years about the problem, but was not aware of them taking any action.
Police said they couldn't comment on specific locations for privacy reasons, but they could say they were aware of issues involving antisocial vehicle users (ASVU) and disorderly behaviour in Akatarawa, including Akatarawa Rd.
"We have received two reports over the last three weeks of antisocial driving behaviour on Akatarawa Rd, but understand the issues in this area relate not only to boy-racer activity, but also other individuals."
Reported behaviour included burnouts, revving engines, and littering across the road and cemetery, a police spokesperson said.
Police were working with the Akatarawa residents group and Upper Hutt council as part of a larger joint work group focusing on antisocial vehicle users, holding them to account and implementing preventative measures where possible.
"We understand this antisocial activity causes distress in the community, and we work hard to hold offenders to account."
Police patrolled the area, and routinely stopped people known for dangerous driving behaviour, "and enforcement action is taken at every opportunity", the spokesperson said.
Members of the public were urged to report such behaviour to police via 111 while it was happening, or 105 after the fact.
"We encourage people to take down as much information as possible, including number plates and potentially videos or photos of the offending - where it's safe to do so."
Even if police couldn't respond straight away, information provided could be the key to identifying those responsible. Action taken could include issuing infringements, impounding vehicles, and suspending licences.
- This story was first published by Stuff
