Source: New Zealand Police
Canterbury Police arrested drivers, impounded vehicles and issued infringement notices over the weekend as they moved to detect, deter and disrupt anti‑social road user activity.
With several large events drawing crowds to Christchurch, including Electric Avenue and a popular motorsport Chrome Expression Session for car enthusiasts, Police were prepared for the influx of visitors and acted early to keep roads and people safe.
Sergeant Ben Rutherford said the Operation Chrome team included bailiffs and was deliberately proactive. Broadly speaking his team was pleased with the weekend.
“We know unroadworthy vehicles and risky behaviour often go hand in hand with potential disruption and harm,” he said. “By taking illegally modified vehicles and dangerous behaviour off the road early we reduced the chance of trouble.”
He said the significant number of people leaving Hagley Park after the music festival added to the road policing workload.
“With more than forty thousand people spilling onto the streets, we worked hard to keep the city safe.
“One example from Friday night was a guy who did a wheelie off a red light past a crowd of people.
“Stunts can go badly wrong with disastrous consequences, especially right in the middle of a crowd.
“That motorbike was taken off the road immediately.”
Over the weekend Police monitored traffic circulating throughout Christchurch and ran multiple checkpoints targeting unsafe vehicles, licence breaches and alcohol‑related offending.
On Saturday night, more than 300 cars gathered in Northwood for a pre‑planned ‘cruise’ planned by Chrome Event organisers.
“Despite slowing traffic flow the drivers were generally well behaved and it was great to see the vehicles on display,” Sergeant Rutherford said.
The convoy travelled to Halswell with a brief stop in Ferrymead.
“The organisers were excellent. Their communication helped ensure everything stayed lawful and disruption was kept to a minimum.”
However, Sergeant Rutherford said Police still had to step in at times.
“As the weekend wore on, there were groups who needed reminding that dangerous vehicles and behaviour won’t be tolerated. We broke up gatherings, removed unsafe vehicles, issued infringements and intervened early.
“Police frequently see how tragedies can play out so we’re equipped and trained to manage safety risks, and we try to prevent something terrible happening.
“We don’t tolerate excessive noise, disruption, intimidation, street racing or unnecessary speed on our roads.
“It’s simple, we just want a fun and safe weekend for Christchurch visitors and residents.”
Provisional summary from the operation:
- Twelve vehicles taken off our roads.
- Six drivers gave excess breath‑alcohol readings.
- Vehicle compliance: eight vehicles were green‑stickered as unsafe.
- Issued over 200 infringement notices.
Police thank all those who reported concerns and encourage anyone with information on illegal or unsafe activity to make a report through the 105 service.
If you have information you’d like to share anonymously, call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
Note for media:
Additional B-roll footage is available below.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Team
LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/01/operation-chrome-takes-the-shine-off-dangerous-driving/