Story: Teenagers and youth

Boy racers (4th of 4)

Boy racers

'Boy racers' were youths who were into cars in the 1990s and the early 21st century. In the 1970s and 1980s they would have been termed 'hoons'. Boy racers customise cars and sometimes meet up in city streets for illegal races. This group was in Dunedin in March 2009, shortly before police moved them on. Since the 1990s cheap Japanese second-hand car imports have meant that cars are much more affordable for young people. Concerns about young men and cars are as old as cars themselves.

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Otago Daily Times
Photograph by Stephen Jaquiery

Permission of the Otago Daily Times must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Carl Walrond, 'Teenagers and youth - Transitions and social relationships', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/27019/boy-racers (accessed 25 April 2024)

Story by Carl Walrond, published 5 May 2011, updated 1 Aug 2017