Peterborough call for drifting footage to be banned from social media after dangerous driver loses licence

A city councillor who has led calls for more to be done to tackle the menace of anti-social and dangerous driving associated with ‘drifting’ events in Peterborough has welcomed a prosecution connected to one such event saw a driver banned from the roads.

Jaymie Currie, 26, of Earl’s Close, Peterborough was disqualified from driving after he was caught on camera sliding his BMW around a roundabout in Alwalton Hill in September last year. Seconds after his car drifted around the roundabout a second car, a Mazda, was filmed crashing into the crowd.

Albert Hall (22), of High Street, Stanwick, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving in relation to the collision with the pedestrian. He has admitted the offence in court and is awaiting sentencing.

Councillor Julie Stevenson has campaigned for a number of years for action to be taken to stop unofficial and unlicensed events such as the one at Alwalton Hill. Residents living near to such events have complained about noise and mess connected with them – and there has long been the fear that someone would get seriously injured – or worse – at them.

After Currie was sentenced, cllr Stevenson called on social media companies to ban the publication of videos from such events. Cambridgeshire Police have released footage of the incident in a bid to show the dangers of drifting on public roads.

She said: “I welcome news of these prosecutions. In the wrong hands, or driven without appropriate levels of care, a car can be a lethal weapon.

"Showing off for notoriety or YouTube views can lead to serious injury or death for anyone unfortunate enough to be in the way should the driver lose control.

"The growing trend to perform these stunts on public roads was going to lead to disaster at some point and I hope the judgements in these cases bring some comfort to the people affected.

"Moreover, we need the courts to keep supporting the police and prosecuting these drivers until the message about how stupid and dangerous it is to do this on public roads gets through. I’d also like the social media platforms to ban this type of content so that the people doing it and then posting videos of it online aren’t rewarded financially for doing so.”

Over the past few years, the City Council has introduced a range of measures, including speed bumps and cameras, at hotspots including Tresham Road in Orton.

Cllr Stevenson said the measures were starting to have an impact – and the problem had been reduced. She said: “Since various measures were installed in locations around Orton, and since the police, local councillors and the council have worked together with greater collaboration, instances of antisocial driving of this nature have decreased. There are still occasions where it’s a problem, but the police have done a good job of getting ahead of organised meets to prevent them from happening.

"I would still ask residents to contact the police if they do see this kind of activity on our roads, because community safety continues to be our shared responsibility.”