Dearer Doughnuts for Boy Racers over Rally Weekend

 Judge James O'Connor - getting tough on the 'boy racer' culture.  ©Photograph:  John Reidy
Judge James O’Connor – getting tough on the ‘boy racer’ culture. ©Photograph: John Reidy

Judge James O’Connor is laying the law down for what we used to call ‘Boy Racers’ in this rapidly changing world.
Doughnuts are definately Do Nots this Rally of the Lakes weekend. And they will be crucifyingly dearer for those caught indulging. There will be heftier contributions to court poor-boxes; errant drivers will be brought to the attention of insurance companies and this will, naturally,  result in crippling levies. There will also be the possibility of being tagged with a criminal record for law-breakers. This is all combined in an effort to combat one of the great scourges of our times.
The new crackdown on the sub-culture of boy-racing is being planned by An Garda Siochána. In recent weeks they have been equipped with the technology to help rapidly assess vehicles for compliance with noise regulations and rules governing the levels of darkened windows and drink driving laws.
Series of Measures
It is, after all, a series of measures to save the lives of these young, impressionable people and the lives of their fellow road users. Not to mention the anguish of parents, siblings and other family members in the aftermath of these awful tragedies.
A mobile Garda unit in the general area of the 37th Cartell.ie International Rally of the Lakes in Killarney, along with the normal, busy-time Garda patrols, will pounce on and penalise anyone caught breaking the law this weekend. And there have been ample warnings of the price to be paid for stupidity on the road.
We used to call them Boy Racers. Now, it seems, the girls are proving themselves equally heavy of pedal-foot. And, in more recent times, quite adept at leaving their marks on the ‘Cop Circle’ circuit.

Cop Circles: The badly tyre marked road between Castleisland and Abbeyfeale near Knocknagoshel.  ©Photograph: John Reidy
Cop Circles: The badly tyre-marked road between Castleisland and Abbeyfeale near Knocknagoshel. Gardaí will clampdown on the activity this rally weekend. ©Photograph: John Reidy

Notorious Stomping Ground
The area of the relatively new Headley’s Bridge to Feale’s Bridge Bypass in the Knockbrack area was the most notorious stomping ground for these acts of vandalism or art nouveau in recent years.
However, government economic policy, at around the same time, forced many of the exponents overseas in search of work and a better way of life.
If you’ve just stepped out of solitary confinement these days, you’d just know there’s a rally on the horizon. There’s a rally atmosphere building and all the overtures are here.
The background noises in towns and villages around Kerry lately are of engines revving and loud exhaust pipes broadcasting intent and gatherings in town and village squares. Then it’s off to destinations unknown to the innocent bystander.

Gardaí in the mobile, Incident Command Unit  at the Rally of the Lakes  in Killarney this weekend from Friday 29th to Sunday, May 1st  Photograph: Domnick Walsh ©  Eye Focus LTD
Gardaí in the mobile, Incident Command Unit at the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney this weekend from Friday 29th to Sunday, May 1st. Here: Garda Joe O’Sullivan and Inspector Colm Noonan looking over the programme for the weekend. Photograph: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD

Attention Drawn to Post
My attention was draw to this post on the topic recently:
“Boy Racers on the Ring of Kerry – what the feck is going on there Kerry people?
Just returned from a day doing the ring of Kerry with the girlfriend. I haven’t been there since I was about 5 so I might as well have been an American tourist.
It was nice enough … but the whole way along the route was covered in donut rings and skid marks from hand-brake turns. I mean you’d see them around the country and would just shrug them off, but once we got past the Kerry border they were all over the place. Tyre marks all over the place. I couldn’t believe it.
So if there are any Kerry folk here can you explain what the feck is going on?
Reply 1: “Like any other rural area, young men (and some women) with no other outlet for their effort, will waste their time on their junk cars.”
Reply 2: “We’re tired of scraping them off the road up here in Donegal.”
Visit and Go Home Safely
It would be great to think that locals and everyone travelling to Kerry this weekend for the Rally of the Lakes would have an enjoyable few days and go home safely. And go home without a criminal record and be able to avoid having to pay bank-breaking sums of money for insurance into the future.
For all the information you need on this week’s rally just click on the link here: http://rallyofthelakes.com