Council wants to continue clampdown on bad driving

A West Yorkshire council wants to extend a legal order prohibiting anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving for another three years.

Bradford Council introduced the Public Space Protection Order in 2019 to clamp down on driver behaviour that causes a nuisance, but is not necessarily illegal.

With the current order expiring this summer, the local authority has started a public consultation with a view to extending it until 2028.

Councillor Kamran Hussain said the order was "vital".

The order prohibits acts such as loudly revving an engine, causing danger to other road users and pedestrians, and shouting abuse from a car.

Anyone failing to comply with the order could face a Fixed Penalty Notice or fine of £1,000.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, hundreds of fines have been issued since the order was introduced.

The consultation will ask members of the public which acts should be included in the updated order, which areas of Bradford they feel are worst for anti-social driving and what time of day they feel bad driving is worst.

Figures from West Yorkshire Police show 123 fines were handed out at two car meets on the Euroway Trading Estate in 2023.

In May last year two men were each fined £1,000 by Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court after being caught on CCTV taking part in a car meet on roads at Euroway.

The men, one from Pudsey and another from Ackworth, did not pay the fines handed to them, and so were handed the hefty fines by the court.

Opposition councillor Matt Edwards, who leads the Greens in Bradford, said the order must be better enforced in future.

"Bradford Council have had this PSPO for anti-social use of vehicles for many years and yet I'm not sure many residents will say the situation with dangerous driving has gotten any better in our district.

"In fact in some places it's worse. There is just not enough enforcement."