New Zealand pothole penis vigilante threatened with prosecution

A New Zealand man who has been drawing large penises on the roads since 2018 in the city of Auckland to highlight potholes faces prosecution.

Auckland Transport has vowed to take legal action against Geoff Upson, a self-professed road safety campaigner, and said that it won’t tolerate vandalism, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Mr Upson received a call from police last week after a citizen complained about his latest penis drawing on Old North Rd on SH16. After he told them that he was responsible for the drawings, the police said it would talk with Auckland Transport and get back to him.

Mr Upson has been spray-painting in neon green colour around potholes in Auckland since 2018 and estimates that he has made more than 100 drawings. He says mostly draws circles around potholes, reserving the penis drawings for areas which are big enough.

He told Vice that the first time he drew on the road was “out of frustration.” He said he had lodged around 20 complaints about a “huge and dangerous pothole” on a local road but there was no response.

An Auckland Transport spokeswoman told Stuff that Old North Rd is now scheduled for repair, and any graffiti will be reported to the police. She said all costs to remove the graffiti will be charged to those responsible.

The spokeswoman also said that the person responsible was not only putting themselves at risk, but was also causing a safety risk and distraction to other drivers.

Mr Upson said he is yet to hear whether he will be prosecuted. “It’s best to be 100 per cent open about it. If I’m going to be charged under the legislation then it is what it is,” he told Stuff.

The road safety campaigner said that he feels “nervous” about the charges and is concerned as to whether it could involves jail time, according to Vice. But he said he is disappointed that in his view Auckland transport is still making almost no effort to repair potholes.