Fast, Furious and Fatal
The London Borough of Croydon has secured a High Court injunction to prevent motor vehicles from participating in ‘Car Cruises’ on one of its industrial estates.
The injunction was granted on 30 September 2016 by Mrs Karen Steyn QC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, and included a power of arrest.
The activities, known as the ‘Croydon Cruise’ consist of vehicles being driven at excessive speed, driving in convoy and racing. The vehicles, many of which are modified, include motor cycles and quad bikes which were involved in performing handbrake turns, ‘doughnuts’ and other stunts.
The Cruise attracted dozens of vehicles and up to 500 spectators and had become a regular occurrence on the industrial estate. Local business and residents had complained of the excessive noise created and the danger to other road users and pedestrians. There had been three crashes including one fatality.
The authority prepared extensive evidence detailing the nature of the problems and the steps that had already been taken in an attempt to prevent the Cruise. The evidence detailed that those involved in the Cruise had disguised their identities, discarded their helmets and removed the number plates from their vehicles in order to evade identification by the authorities.
The injunction was obtained against ‘Persons Unknown’ and various steps were taken to persuade the court that a wide-ranging injunction was appropriate against unnamed Defendants. The intention to make an application for an injunction order was widely publicised through various media and further steps will be taken now that the order has been granted.
The final order runs to some 10 pages and indicates that level of work that was required to bring the application to a conclusion. Kuljit Bhogal was involved in advising on the evidence required, drafting the application documents and appeared in court for the authority.
The case has been reported on Westlaw and Lawtel. The Westlaw Case analysis can be found here.
For press coverage see articles in Croydon Guardian and Croydon Advertiser.
