“Bored boy racers” are a “driving rural residents round the bend” through meet-ups and illegal driving stunts, according to Mayo County Council’s road safety officer Noel Gibbons.
Noting that car meet-ups “reminiscent of scenes from Hollywood film franchise the Fast and the Furious, have soared in popularity since the first lockdown, with lives said to be at risk”.
He added that there has also been an increasing number of illegal driving stunts by ‘boy racers’ in industrial estates and on rural roads across the county since the first lock-down, according to road safety officials and An Garda Síochána.
The Mayo County Council official said: “In the early days of lockdown there was a particular problem with drivers speeding on quieter roads.
“Whereas the Gardaí quickly cracked down on this speeding, we’re concerned these cruising-style events appear to be proliferating out from the larger towns into rural areas, where local youths have discovered their roads are much quieter at night and are difficult to monitor with look outs and advertising the meet ups on social media channels.”
However, he noted that Gardaí “still have managed to seize some vehicles because of some modifications made to them that renders them unroadworthy”.
Pointing to the rural area near the landfill site in Newport, Mayo, in particular, Gibbons said:
“Residents have reported incidences of drivers racing, skidding, honking horns, flashing lights, and blaring loud music. We would advise young people with an interest in cars to join a motorsport club where they can enjoy driving in a safe and controlled environment.”
The County Council is turning to CCTV in a partnership campaign with An Garda Siochanna to stamp out the scourge of boy racers doing donuts on public road endangering their lives and the lives of others.
Highlighting the cost of repairing these junctions, Gibbons noted that it could be anywhere from €500 up to €1,000 or €1,200, depending on if a stop or yield marking needs replacement.
The CCTV cameras are placed with signage at known locations where this behaviour is taking place and the video footage with the offenders on it is forwarded to the Gardaí.
A spokesperson for the An Garda Sichanna from Castlebar Garda station issued a warning this week about such activity, stating:
“Acts of excessive speeding, drifting, and ‘donuts’ on public roads are dangerous and undertaken without any consideration for other road users. All it takes is one mistake, a lapse in concentration, or one fault with a vehicle for something to go tragically wrong.”
An Garda Síochána will be pursuing those who break the road traffic laws – and there are a number of covert and high visibility operations planned to address the issue, it was said.