Then there's the Drag Racing, maybe if the Drag racing stayed on the track locals wouldn't mind it quite as much, but it doesn't ... on October 23rd 2005 a driver attending Drag races at Ruapuna bought his car out onto a local road and did a practice run, well done to him ! On the same day another driver tested his car for about 30 minutes outside homes close to Ruapuna Racetrack , revving his motor , taking off, stopping ...revving ... all this at 8.30AM on a Sunday and on public roads.
Curiously, it seems as though a sizeable chunk of Drag racing followers suffer from some kind of self esteem problem and have to attach a giant exhaust pipe to their car - this makes their cars sound really really loud, ( a lot like this one) and may make them feel really really important, or maybe the owners of cars with loud exhaust systems just like to be noticed, who knows. The upshot of this though is that locals not only get to listen to Drag racing all day , they also get to listen to Drag Racing fans' really loud cars roaring up and down their roads.Having said that, we must acknowledge the attendees who drive quiet cars and don't feel the need to draw attention to themselves by driving loud cars - to those good folk - thank you ! Your consideration, safe driving and maturity really does make a difference - and your own neighbours probably appreciate your quiet cars also .
But sadly there's more .. Locals out here also get to watch and listen to a fair amount of these people driving at high speed up and down their roads, doing 'donuts ' on our roads , some of them reaching speeds of 150- 160 kmh , some practising drifting around corners .. what fun ! what thrills ! Occasionally though it all goes pear shaped...
Its lucky this wannabe race car driver didn't meet another car coming the other way as he careered down a local road - its lucky he managed to get his mates to get him out of the ditch before Police arrived and asked him how it happened . Light not so good in this photo? - thats because locals were still listening to Noise at 7 pm when this bright spark decided to use local roads as a play area - lets see ... the noise started at 8.15 am ( the PA system from the remote control cars ) and finished at 7 pm - thats 10.5 hours of noise - and you think you live in a Clean Green Country and that Christchurch cares about the health of all its citizens ? Think again .
2 comments:
My sympathies...by the end of the night you must have been just about going crazy! I hate unnecessary noise like that. And as for drag racing...what point is there to it? Other than wasting fuel and burning rubber?
That strip of road reminds me of the one going out towards Mount Hutt. I spent a week in your wonderful city back in Octover 1986 on tourism business. Going along a road similar to the one in your picture as I was heading to Mount Hutt for a picnic (never did get up there ase we were too late and the 'up' road was closed. So we turned around and had the picnic , with the wind howling somewhere along the way...it appeared it once was a river but now only pebbles and high banks...the guy with me was from South African Airlines)...I have digressed from my original tale...sorry... :)
As we drove along a lamb was loose on the road so we stopped to allow me to alight from the car. I picked the lamb up and put it back over the fence where its mother was panicking a little at the sight of her baby in harm's way. You could have sworn she was reprimanding it when I handed her baby back to her...and she had a very kindly, thankful look in her eyes when she looked at me...or maybe I just have a wild imagination! Whichever...I was glad I could do something that perhaps saved a life.
I had a ball in Christchurch that particular week...and ate the biggest mussels I've ever had, before or since! I stayed at the Chateau Regency, but have heard since it's no longer...nor is Noah's where I had a wild Sunday lunch/into evening one year! (It seemed like a year I spent there in Noah's and also on the banks of the River Avon enjoying cheese, crackers and red wine after lunch, waiting for the prime minister of Botswana to arrive.but that's another story, for another day!)
I can't believe this disastrous health hazard can be permitted. Residents are not proposing to stop the racing, merely asking the authorities for some regulation of the noise. Yet you are all ignored?
Maybe all of you should send your medical bills to Helen Clarke's office.
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