Public urged to have say on car cruising ban in the Black Country
People have been urged to have their say about car cruising in the Black Country – in a bid to find a nationwide solution.
Chiefs at Wolverhampton Council are carrying out the survey to evaluate whether there is a call to tackle the issue elsewhere.
It comes after councils in the Black Country secured a High Court injunction in 2014 to ban car cruising.
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, Wolverhampton Council's cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, said: "The Black Country injunction prohibits people from taking part in, or publicising, a car cruise anywhere within Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell or Walsall – and it has been hugely successful, eliminating the problem altogether in some places.
"Indeed, it has worked so well that other areas, including Birmingham and Solihull, now have injunctions of their own.
"But this is only a regional solution – we want to see whether it might be possible to tackle the issue at a national level."
The outcome of the survey will form the basis of a feasibility study to find out how the problem is tackled outside of the region.
Eradicate
The survey asks whether people are aware of the Black Country injunction, whether they support it and how they think councils should tackle the issue in future.
Councillor Paula Brookfield, cabinet member for governance, said: "We know that car cruising is not confined to the Black Country or the West Midlands, and we also know that the High Court is unlikely to continue to renew the injunction every three years as is currently the case – it will either decide the injunction has proven successful and is no longer required, or, that with the best will in the world, it is impossible to eradicate car cruising and therefore it's not proportionate to maintain the injunction.
"That's why we want to work with our partners and other stakeholders to find a permanent nationwide solution to car cruising."
Banned activities include speeding, racing, performing stunts or sounding horns, using threatening language or causing an obstruction whether moving or stationary.
Incidents of car cruising should be reported to West Midlands Police on 101 – or by calling 999 in an emergency.
People have until midnight on August 4 to have their say in the survey at consultation.wolverhampton.gov.uk
