An illegally modified car is towed from a Stanley petrol station during a pre-dawn raid on street racing hotspots
Police launched speeding operations across the city over the weekend, arresting three while impounding 23 cars and nine motorbikes alleged to be illegally modified for street racing.
The speed campaigns in Kowloon East, Kowloon West, New Territories South and Hong Kong Island ran mostly on Saturday and dished out a total of 484 speeding tickets on top of the towing and arrests.
Several cars in Kowloon East were found with illegal after-market turbos, suspension and spoilers
In Kowloon East, cops set up a 6am trap near Kai Tak, catching just two illegally modified cars with illegal turbos, suspension and rear spoilers.
In New Territories South, police set up road blocks on “arterial roads” popular with illegal street racers. Officers identified 10 cars identified as illegally modified, towing them, while two people were arrested: one 39-year-old man for driving an unlicensed vehicle and a 49-year-old woman who was a wanted person.
In Kowloon West, a 6am roadblock at Piper’s Hill on Tai Po Road caught eight suspicious vehicles”. Three of those were found to be illegally modified and were towed.
And on Hong Kong Island, nine cars and seven motorcycles were found to be illegally modified, while one learner driver was arrested for multiple offences including carrying passengers as a learner.
Police say dangerous driving and speeding are “serious crimes”.
“Once convicted, in addition to being fined, [drivers] may also be sentenced to imprisonment,” says the force.
Dangerous driving convictions were up 7% in the first nine months of 2021 against the same period of 2020, with 750 drivers convicted. Police also gave 208,261 speeding tickets during those nine months, around one ticket every two minutes.
Yet illegal street racing problems persist, with residents all over the city complaining of late-night or early-morning racing in their districts. Many car groups share timetables of their “meets” publicly, while pre-booked photographers crouch at bends on roads such as Shek O Road and Tai Po Road to sell “action shots” to drivers.
Police on Hong Kong Island targeted motorbikes as well as cars: nine were towed for illegal mods
Early morning speed traps around KITEC found two illegally modified cars
A convoy of suspected racers was intercepted on Piper’s Hill, Tai Po Road
Categories: Law and Enforcement, On the Roads, Transit
Route Twisk (Shek Kong) has almost daily motorbike speed trials, with these very noisy and dangerous events reaching a peak at weekends and on public holidays. Have occured for years but with little police action or speed cameras. One can speculate this law breaking is ‘permitted’
… the worst is when a racer sniffs your bum till they’re able to overtake – only to then slam on the brakes. I’m half tempted to ram into the back of these tossers next time it happens.
about time! Lots of action shots opportunities in Clear Water Bay roughly every other nights. Perhaps Gov could implement speed cameras to provide these dudes guarantied shots…