Alex Cole-Hamilton: Antisocial car racing – time for solutions

Antisocial car and bike racing is a major problem in South QueensferryAntisocial car and bike racing is a major problem in South Queensferry
Antisocial car and bike racing is a major problem in South Queensferry
Full disclosure: When I was 16 my best friend was something of a petrol head and owned two Honda 50cc mopeds that we would tinker with in his garage.

We would ride around on them in the fields behind his house, I think the fastest we could get them going over the tilled earth was about 30mph. I still have the scar tissue from the falls I took and the parental rebuke ringing in my ears, but I understand the thrill of acceleration and the draw of any kind of engine.

But there is a massive difference between an interest in cars and bikes and what’s going on in the town of South Queensferry right now. For four years, my constituents have had their quality of life destroyed by hundreds of high performance cars and motorbikes, some of them illegally modified, racing around their beautiful town.

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The drivers of these vehicles will congregate from all parts of Scotland and some will even abuse and intimidate anyone who approaches them, in the carpark at the foot of the iconic Forth Bridge, a UNESCO world heritage site.

There they will gather and honk their horns throughout their night to assert their presence. They’ll do wheel spins in a stationary position until the whole area is drenched in a fug of acrid tyre smoke before racing off on a circuit that takes in most of the town. The doctored breaking systems and exhausts mean that everyone can hear the machine gun effect of the backfires all over town. Pets have been killed, hotels have lost trade and nobody is getting any sleep.

Last week I chaired a packed town hall meeting in Queensferry, where I’d brought together high ranking officials from the council, other elected representatives and the new Chief Inspector for Police Scotland in Edinburgh’s North West locality to hear from residents. I say packed, it was absolutely rammed, standing room only and people who arrived slightly late had to turn away because they literally could not get into the building.

These people are practically on their knees from the exhaustion and misery caused by this antisocial racing. It’s why I raised it with the First Minister of Scotland in Parliament the very next day. I asked him to meet with me to establish a national task force to address this problem because it is not just confined to Queensferry. I’m grateful for the tone of his response and willingness to explore solutions.

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One such solution that I’ve called on him to adopt, feels like an easy win. Unlike councils in England, Scottish local authorities do not have the power to install and operate speed cameras in their areas. That is currently the preserve of the police. The Scottish Parliament could, with some speed, change the law to allow councils that power.

At a stroke that would allow City of Edinburgh to install cameras along the length of the Queensferry racing circuit. Not only will the fines accrued from the cameras pay for their installation and upkeep, but they will generate additional revenue that could be invested in additional road safety measures.

Nobody should have to suffer the misery caused by anti-social car racing, it’s time for our parliament and Scottish local authorities to work together towards a lasting solution.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Alex Cole-Hamilton is MSP for Edinburgh West and leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats

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