Rules making tracks | Auckland Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Auckland

Fresh tyre tracks criss-cross the sand at Muriwai Beach. The four-wheel drive that made them has departed, the rising tide chasing away the motorists.

Again this summer, police and park rangers will remind people that all vehicles on the beach must be registered and have a current warrant of fitness.

But it's an issue that polarises local people.

Kumeu resident Raoul Dashwood comes to Muriwai often because it is the closest beach to his home. He enjoys off-road motorbiking, but not on the beach.

"I tend to stick to the tracks, where it is safer,'' he says. "I don't think it's a good thing to be driving on a beach when there are people using it, too, and vehicles do get stuck here.''

Muriwai resident Martin Wallis, who runs the local surf school and the residents' Association, says a lot of people are concerned about the rules on vehicle use.

"The Auckland Regional Council is constantly trying to close the beach to vehicles, and the rules show this.

"Most people kept an old, unwarranted car just for driving on the beach, because it was so rusty from the sand and saltwater that it would never get a warrant.

"This is a beach, and I've never seen any documentation that it has been gazetted as anything else.''

Mr Wallis says the dangerous driving of a few people spoils it for everyone.

"There are not many places like this that you can come to and just go for a drive.

"It's a fantastic resource, and a lot of the fishermen and surfers use it to drive down with their gear.''

Muriwai Beach has speed limits of 30km/h near the township end and 60km/h further north, which came into effect in December last year.

Before then, the beach was considered an open road and speeds of up to 100km/h were permitted.

Accidents, including a fatality, forced authorities to lower the speed limit.

Auckland Regional councillor Christine Rose says the rules make the beach safer for everyone.

"They have definitely helped make people more aware of the danger.

"It is all about avoiding unnecessary danger, and the damage that vehicles can do,'' she says.

Kumeu Community Constable Mike Collins says police will patrol the beach this summer to check drivers are staying within the speed limit and to make sure vehicles are warranted and registered.

"I haven't been to a call-out at the beach this year, so the rules have certainly made
a huge difference.

"People are learning that driving 100km/h on a beach is dangerous, and people are certainly more aware of the dangers.''