Some righteous justice being handed out in the U.K.: "Boy racer menaces who perform dangerous stunts and tear around Darlaston in high-powered cars could see their prized motors sent to the crusher." Story http://www.expressandstar.com/articles/news/es/article_76326.php
Beware the slippery slope effect on this one. If this law can be applied to import tuner type cars, it can be applied to any car. Today the focus is on import tuner cars, tomorrow it may be loud, dangerous, dirty hot rods. Big brother is always looking for more ways to control the people, no matter what country you're in.
I understand your concerns Mike, but I don't think it'll happen to us, we are small in number and the coppers like our rides. I can't tell you the number of stunts I've gotten away with in my hot rod that would've got me busted in my Honda.
Also from the article..."They are tearing around, doing stunts and spinning their wheels." Know anyone that could be accused of the same? Yeah, me too. I'd agree with Mike on this one. That is if I was on a board dedicated to talking about the fate of tuner cars, rather then one dedicated to traditional rods and customs.
********. They don't deserve to have their own personal property destroyed. Stop and think if that at***ude had been acted on 50 years ago. Not ****ing cool.
We may do it, just with enough brains not to do it in school zones and going 65-70mph through neighborhoods full of kids. Respect is the operative word, something ricers should learn.
I dunno Nads, around here they call that BS the tuner guys are doing "Drag Raceing" they won't be able to tell the difference. Of course I'm not a menace so maybe they'll overlook the occaisional burnout, or cats ***.
it aint far off... out here in los angeles (yeah, i know, we don't care how they do it in california) a guy caught street racing can have his car confi****ed, impounded and sent to auction with NO chance of reclaiming it, plus fines and points and possible jail time. i'm all for curbing illegal racing (or stupid exhibitions of speed by less than capable drivers) activity, and i'd say losing the 30 grand you have in your 5.0 mustang is a pretty good deterrent. (at least the thats how much the last guy i heard about lost)... funny part though, is that the cars get bought up by some OTHER ricky racer and the cycle of life continues...
Actually for me to say I never did any stupid chit back 35 or so years ago would be an out and out lie. hell, I still get out and blow off some steam once in awhile. The big problem is that the law doesn't make any distinction between the idiots and the rest of us. Every time a couple of kids get out and try to race their tuners, then crash and burn all they see is "Hot Rodders, Drag Raceing". I don't think the law wants to make any distinction between a tuner and our cl***ics.
If the closest track wasn't an hour and a half away, I bet there would be a lot less streetracing around here... Until then, I-475 at 2am looks pretty inviting...
I doesn't matter, we have a track right here in town. They even have nights set aside for the younger set. What they don't offer is the idea that you're getting away with something. That and you car has to p*** tech.
maybe not, but at the roundup this year, it got pretty crazy on Congress in front of the Continental Club. there were so many spectators standing on the street traffic was choked down to only one lane in each direction. the ricers would have been quite jealous of what was being gotten away with on a busy street with thousands of people choking the street and sidewalk. then el jefe called the fuzz on his own event to cool things down. we're really no different than the import guys.
Notice that a privately owned parking lot Owner can press charges against the perpetraitor above and beyond public road laws. All you need is one "pissed off" business owner and he can make life very difficult by enforcing Tressp***ing, Loitering and or personal property damages...!!! Not to mention if someone were to get injured on his property you can be ***ured he's going to take it out on the Driver responsible for the accident. Food for thought...!
50+ years ago, "hot rods" were looked on with disdain by virtually every community and law enforcement agency. What do you think brought about dragstrips and the NHRA. Those two significant developments in traditional rodding were positive developments by responsible individuals who recognized the fact that hot rods were about to be legislated out of existence (fender and muffler laws) by other people's irresponsible actions on the street. While "street racing" in a historical sense sounds dramatic and cool, today, however, there is absolutely no justification. Let me explain my comment on "righteous" justice for tuners. 99% of people on this board who've invested blood, sweat and tears in their rides not only understand the mechanics of what they have and value them, but they also care about the safety of themselves and others. My "personal" take on tuners is that most of them simply run up big credit card debts buying whatever **** is installed on their cars by the shops that cater to them. Then, they're so irresponsible that they take inspiration from **** like "The fast and furious" and go out and raise havoc -- which, ultimately, causes problems for everyone with a special interest car, be it tuner or traditional rod. This tuner/drifting thing is a worldwide phenomenon that is bringing about legislation that will ultimately effect us all. Think I'm kidding, read about Florida's new law. It's just going to get worse! From my perspective, some irresponsible ***hole does deserve to have his personal property destroyed if his actions are ultimately going to cost me my right to build and just plain drive the kind of car I want. Oh, and that's just the personal, material side of it. None of these legislative actions would have gotten traction had not people been killed by the irresponsible actions of a growing number of ***wipes that need reigning in for their own good. That's my opinion -- and I'm sticking to it.
Isnt this the same thing that happened in the 40's and 50's? And the old folks trashed the young hot rodders. The only difference is that the kids today are doing it in Honda's and 50 years ago they were doing it with model A's with the fenders removed and flatheads. The big dollar Honda's are built with safety in mind and have better brakes than the hot rods of 50 years ago that we immortalize. It just goes to show that kids havent changed, they just want to drive fast and soup up the cars that are most familiar to them.
I never did anything stupid in a car unless I was alone or with somebody.LOL I wonder what ever happened to the "Law of NATURAL Selection"? It is not possible to legislate against "STUPIDITY" without stepping on everyone elses toes and sliding dow "the slippery slope" reffered to earlier,because the justice system has a tendency to live by the "Jaundiced Letter of theLAW" without any regard for case by case cir***stance. IMHO T.OUT
Man, I'm kinda on the fence on this one. On one hand, some of those ricers are just plain thugs and I could give a **** less about them and what jonnylaw does to their cars. On the other hand, alot of them are JUST like the hotrodders of yore that comprises our heritage. Think nobody ever died because of a reckless hotrodder back in the day? Think again. If you're racing on a deserted street in the middle of the night, and the spectators are at a safe distance, jonnylaw shouldn't have **** to say. On the other hand, if you're racing on a street where there is ANY non participant car on the road, you should be locked up and lose your car, it's just too damn dangerous to others, there are too many uncontrollable variables. The law should distinguish between offences. A ticket/slap on the wrist for one, a serious punishment/deterrent for the other. Big Brother is watching, but fortunately, there are some lawmakers that are hotrodders and hopefully there are enough to defend our rights. SEMA is a good lobbying org as well.
I'm not so sure you've made an educated desicion on this one goob. Sure it sounds like a good plan but every group has it's good and bad. I recall last years Broken dream cruise a T-bucket doin donughts out in the middle of woodward. What you saying is that if it was a ricer the car should have been crushed. I know when I was on livernoise last weekend there were muscle cars, rods and ricers out racing. I don't think the make or year of your car should decide your fate. Sounds kinda prejiduce eh! Also I think people are more fed up with the tuner scene because they're more abundant. I used to see the irony when I got pulled over in my suped up Talon for the same thing I would get away with in my '53...
I think it's pretty ****ed up of the police to implement laws like that. I'm not sure of the legality of it here in the US, there has to be some kind of case law on the seizure of private property. Are there no means within the criminal justice system to fine them with money or jail time? We incarcerate people for all kinds of petty ********, why not this? What about loss of license? There are other means than maliciously destroying a person's car. Put yourself in their shoes. This is frontier justice and we've come a long way from that. Here in the US, we have special police cars like Camaros and Mustangs (and even Police Interceptor Crown Vics are no slouch) to keep up with people in high speed scenarios. Maybe if the police we better equipped and could actualy apprehend people they wouldn't do it. If you knew you could get away, wouldn't you run too? As evidenced by other cases where someone is mowed down by a drunk driver, or hit by a person irresponsibly driving over the speed limit, a vehicle of any kind is a deadly weapon and people can and should be held criminally responsible. Personally, I'd rather watch my car get crushed than spend a year in the box.
a buddy of mine got busted for doing a pretty sizable hole shot. its a fast car (low 11's) cop pulls him over, puts cuffs on and takes him to jail and impounds his car... that was unheard of 10 yrs ago. he is far from a criminal and could have easily lied about why the burn out happened, but didnt. his job relys on a clean driving record, luckily the judge dropped the case. so, its no ********.. cops are cracking down, even if you have an old car.
The fact of the matter is that it's much more crowded than it was in the old days, and much more dangerous to be racing on the street. And the young guys of today don't just do a stoplight to stoplight drag race - they blow lights and cut people off like they're the only ones on the road. Mutt
In LA, they also take your car and sell it if you're caught soliciting the services of a pros***ute, or... uhh, so I've heard.
It's too damn crowded for someone to be stopping in the street for a ******, too! Keep moving at the speed limit and all your troubles are solved...... Mutt
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