Lyttleton Harbour residents have decided to form a taskforce and raise money so they can hire a portable speed camera. Photo: 123rf
A group of Christchurch residents are so fed up with boy racers they're fundraising for speed cameras to collect evidence against those driving dangerously and waking residents in the dead of the night.
At public meeting last week, Lyttleton Harbour residents decided to form a taskforce and raise money so they could hire a portable speed camera.
It's hoped the camera will record data that could help police track down the culprits.
There's concern some of the drivers are using the narrow roads between the bays as a race track.
Linda Purves, 72, is a community patrol volunteer.
She told Checkpoint the boy racers drove "pretty dangerously around the hills".
"Driving very fast, usually a couple of them at a time, no room to pass, very narrow roads and the speed limits are 60.
"I would say they are going at least 80 because you couldn't do much more and still have your tyres gripping," she said.
Residents say roads around Lyttleton Harbour are being used by people as a race track. Photo: Stuff / Alden Williams
She said Lyttleton Harbour and the Port Hills attracted groups of boy racers.
"The worst night we saw, there probably would have been 50 of them (cars) up the top - there's a car park there, that was full, and a lot of people were actually on the road and that's why we thought they were probably doing time trials.
"Its horrendous... just one small mistake - from inexperienced and I guess young-ish people who don't really know what the consequences will be - could be tragic."
She said the noise was also a problem.
"It's so loud it reverberate around the hills... if they do something in on bay it can be clearly heard in another."
Purves said her job as a patroller was to advise the police of any "trouble", and had previously called the police reporting boy racers.
She said she wasn't apart of the group that were fundraising for speed cameras, but said they could help.
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