Police in Ashfield have issued a warning to people who meet for a weekly ‘car cruise’ near the M1 that they are being watched and will be prosecuted if they drive dangerously or aggressively.
Any nuisance vehicles causing anti-social behaviour, in breach of this order, could face a £100 fixed penalty notice and/or a S59 notice.
Officers are concerned about regular weekend evening gatherings in and around Junction 27, where a large number of cars park up in a layby – with some then driven recklessly and at high speeds through nearby roads and on the motorway itself.
In response, Nottinghamshire Police will be issuing a Section 34 Dispersal Order this weekend – allowing them to order people out of the area without having to arrest them.
The force will also be deploying additional officers and resources to the area to target people who break the law.
A Public Space Protection Order is in place in the area to clamp down on antisocial behaviour – allowing officers to take enforcement action against vehicles engaged in certain actions, including making excessive noise, being driven in convoy and accelerating aggressively.
A police drone may also be used to spot and evidence acts of reckless and dangerous driving.
Inspector Mark Dickson, district commander for Ashfield, said: “We realise people have put a lot of work into their cars and are often very proud of them.
“We also have no issue with people meeting up to admire each other’s vehicles – so long as they are doing so at a responsible distance.
“But these meet-ups become a problem for us when people drive those vehicles in a way that puts other road users (and themselves) at risk of serious injury or death.
“If we catch people committing these offences there will be consequences for them. We will prosecute them and we may even seize vehicles if they continue to be driven in an antisocial manner.
“We really don’t want to have to do that so I would urge anyone who plans on attending these meetups in the weeks ahead that we will be maintaining both a visible and an unseen presence in the area.
“These really aren’t measures we take lightly, but we are sufficiently concerned by some of the behaviour we have seen in this area to take these additional steps.”
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