The Childrens Commissioner is doubling down on his call for the police to stop pursuing young people behind the wheel, who refuse to stop.

Andrew Beecroft reckons teenagers thrive on the thrill of being chased. But as the police point out, it’s very hard to ascertain the age of a driver in a fast moving car.

This week’s tragedy in Christchurch has seen the usual anti-authoritarian suspects spout off like, Deborah Manning. The Auckland barrister is demanding an immediate ban on police pursuits, with the exception of serious offences.

She thinks the police should simply take note of the rego plate and catch up with them later. The problem with that is many of the cars in question are stolen, so the fleeing driver is never caught.

She also reckons using road spikes is a better bet than chasing offenders. Maybe Manning has forgotten that three teenagers died after their car lost control after hitting road spikes earlier this year, after refusing to stop. The cops can’t win.

The police sought to stop the driver in Christchurch this week, with a car load of occupants, because it was being driven erratically, at 4 am. I would smell a rat too. Let’s suppose they were an erratic drugged driver. Of course they should be stopped.

If the police hadn’t pursued this car, and someone was still killed, all hell would have broken loose. The cops can't win.

It’s shameful that so many Kiwis think the police are fair game. Feckless young men, increasingly prepared to risk their own lives, and yours. The stats show that most fleeing drivers are serious and persistent offenders.

Far tougher sentences would certainly help underscore the gravity of their stupidity. In some Australian states, it results in automatic jail time.

But back to Deborah Manning. Waving the white flag and neutering police response would be a disaster. How many more innocent lives would be lost if the cops were paralysed from pursuing the scum of society, when they pose as a public threat on the road?

Year on year, there has been a nineteen per cent increase in fleeing drivers. They are at record levels.

Over seventy per cent of pursuits are abandoned.

In Christchurch, the nation’s capital for this feckless behaviour, there are ten fleeing driver incidents each week.

In a bid to turn the tide on our epidemic of fleeing drivers, the government could at least implement one central plank from the Police Association’s election year wish-list. Make the penalty for failing to stop, not just mandatory licence suspension but mandatory vehicle impoundment.

And if fines remain unpaid, the vehicle should be confiscated and sold. The Police Association believes recidivist fleeing drivers should be imprisoned. Chris Cahill also wants action on another core problem with drivers who successfully flee.