Council extends order tackling anti-social driving

A legal order prohibiting anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving has been extended in Bradford.

Councillors agreed to extend the Public Space Protection Order until 2028 at a meeting on Thursday.

The order means drivers who are found causing a nuisance by revving engines, cat calling from their cars or attending unauthorised car meets can be hit with a fine – even if their acts are not actually illegal.

Michael Churley, safer communities co-ordinator at Bradford Council, said there had been "overwhelming support" for a recent public consultation on whether to extend the order.

He told councillors that 942 people had responded to the survey and 97% had "agreed that this is a big problem in our district," according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Churley added that the majority of responses were from women, which he said indicated that "women feel less safe on our roads then men do".

Little Horton Councillor Taj Salam said he felt the "main problem we have on our roads is high performance cars with young drivers behind the wheel".

He said: "If you have a lapse in concentration for a few seconds in these cars, that's when people get injured, lose their life or injure others.

"This order is for mechanically propelled vehicles – but some are much more high performance than others.

"I cycle and the way people behave when they drive past me - I don't want to be on the road."

He said it was important that there were enough resources put into tackling anti-social and dangerous driving.

The order, which was first introduced in 2019, expires after three years, meaning councillors have to approve an extension to keep it in place.

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