New Zeland takes mans car over squealing tires

[graywolf624]

New Zealand Seizes $180,000 Car Over Squealing Tires New Zealand Police seize a $180,000 Mercedes-Benz without trial by claiming it lost traction. Police in New Zealand seized a Mercedes-Benz worth NZD $258,900 (US $180,556) on December 29 after its owner, a prominent local businessman, performed a brief burnout in Te Awamutu. Police kept the luxury sedan for 28 days while its owner, John Rae, faced criminal charges carrying a sentence of three months in prison, a fine of NZD $4500 (US $3138) and a six-month license suspension. He is expected to go on trial February 7. Rae, the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce chairman and an insurance broker, admits that he lost traction and that he thought he did nothing wrong because he was aware that a police officer was lurking on a side street. Police hunted down his CLS 55 AMG a full forty-five minutes later to take away the sedan, stranding him, his wife and his mother-in-law. He was formally charged with "operating a motor vehicle in a manner that caused it to have a sustained loss of traction." Rae thought the so-called "boy racer" confiscation laws applied to young drag racers who endangered others on the streets. Now he is upset that the police have exploited the situation by making him an example in the media with sixteen New Zealand newspapers, as well as radio and television, covering the situation. "I had no idea that the boy racer laws had that far reaching consequences," Rae told TV New Zealand. "I thought it was more for kids doing skids and drag racing at night." The "Boy Racer Act" took effect in 2003 giving police officers discretionary power to seize on-the-spot any vehicle they claim had a sustained loss of traction -- without trial, warrant or due process. Police will now be on the lookout for this Mercedes because they will able to keep the high-performance Benz permanently upon a second conviction. The motto on Mercedes-Benz New Zealand's website reads, "CLS 55 AMG: The best way to attract attention? Make yourself scarce."

And they want to throw him in jail too..
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/09/900.asp

[ZfrkS62]

boy racer act = power trip :roll:

And once they take permanent possession of the AMG car, i guess htye are going to deck it out in cop gear and ue it for themselves? This guy may as well sell the car now.

[jakaracman]

Another nazi state ...

[Banchi105]

Sometimes I think we have some stupid laws here in the states- but 'operating a motor vehicle in a manner that caused it to have a sustained loss of traction' :roll:

How is that a crime?

[exhausted mules]

that is absoletuly rediculous. how in the hell does that guy live in that country?


took the car for 28 days?
a fine of 3 grand with a license suspension of 6 months? JESUS!

and on top of that they took the car when they found him and left the occupents stranded.


i remember once i cut across a 3 lane intersection while driving a company truck with no license.

i got caught and what did the cop do? slapped me with a good fine (300 bucks in total i believe plus reinstatment fines) and left me there with the truck to deal with my business.

he told me if i would be caught driving again the fine would be bigger.


i drove back to to the shop with the truck and got a license.





and that was way worse than squealing tires!

unreal....

[htfaber]

........to take away the sedan, stranding him, his wife and his mother-in-law......


Ai, now that's gonna hurt! Nagging mother-in-law!