"Illegal street racing"

[Telecaster]

Our local news (Jacksonville, Fla) has been reporting on a lot of incidents lately of what they call illegal street racing. It's not exactly racing, but just people blocking major roads and having impromptu car shows. From the videos it looks like they draw large crowds of passive participants. They do donuts, some drag racing, and generally cause a nuisance and people complain about the noise. The police don't step in unless something "serious" happens. There was even a car "show" in front of the police headquarters building.

I know it's nothing new, young people have cruised as long as there have been cars. But they don't seem to be just youths looking for fun at 2am. Cruising wasn't like this in the olden times.

Does this happen elsewhere, or am I just getting a case of "get off my lawn"?

 

[steelslaver]

I know a couple towns that have cruises. A particular chunk of road where those proud of their ride drive repeatedly, some have a parking lot where they will stop for viewing. Most of the racing is either out of sight or on tracks. I live in a town of just 6000 and we have an actual drag strip, plus, a rough and tumble form of dirt track racing called bump and run. For a while at the start of Covid there was the Friday night cruise and everyone drove the main drag just to wave and honk at everyone else.

When I was a kid there was a straight chunk of very lightly used highway about 10 miles out of my home town of 10,000 with lines painted across it 1/4 mile apart. It got some use. I started driving in 1966. It was there then and was still there when I lest in the early 90s. Probably still there. I know of 2 kids who died there.

Street racing started with horses and has not gone anywhere. An "American" tradition. Dangerous one for sure.

 

[Breakaway500]

All street racing is illegal..and groups have been congregating to "party" forever. However modern social behavior has become far less..."civil" as most of the participants do not fear reprisal, and have little respect for others rights.

Fast and furious is the theme...until someone gets killed and takes a few "passive" people with them. It's happening everywhere.

 

[ladder13]

Car shows have become a joke with the idiots coming in strong. The fart can imports are especially obnoxious.

One show here has told owners of Dodge Hellcats and their siblings never to come back because of bad behavior.

I go to one show a year, it’s a charity for local veterans needs, and well regulated. They don’t allow stupidity.

 

[Telecaster]

One news report says, "Members of the car clubs have said it’s a lifestyle."

 

[ZGrand]

Happens all the time in Atlanta. A few days ago one was going on and a police woman drove up to try to break it up. Participants attacked her car and would not allow her to get out until backup arrived.
3 arrested in North Fulton street racing incident after crowd damages officer’s car

 

[ColbyBruce]

Such gatherings happen in Atlanta and the metro area quite frequently. Usually the crowd is gone before a sufficient amount of LE can arrive to cuff and stuff offenders. I feel the offenders should be arrested, made to scrub the tire marks off the road, their vehicles impounded and scrapped. But then what do I know.

 

[NYlakesider]

Got to jump in here! During the 60s and early 70s I was a well know street racer in the Albany NY area. Had a fast car with a lot of money in it. It was a way of life. Of course I did a lot of legal running on the 4 drag strips that were in the area.

Sure street racing was illegal but if you were careful, like waiting till later when the traffic went way down and doing the serious races on the newely constructed bypass no problem.

On the bypass the cops would sometimes park on a bridge along with the spectators that were watching a good race and watch. Sometime making a prediction on what car would win.. The cops were driving 6 cylinders or small V8s in large cars

With my "credits" out there I have to admit it was stupid but that was the way many 18YO to about age 26 males acted back then. I'm a bit older now!

What I see now is much different than what we did. A lot of the now so called street scene is more like gangs looking for trouble.
We have the ricer contingent, also the rich kid that can afford to get a 500 to 700HP car that he does not have a clue how to drive and all I can say is WOW! The biggest thing now going on in the tri city area is mostly kids taking high powered off road motor cycles and ATVs and doing any thing they want any time they want

Gangs going the wrong way on a one way street going up the sidewalk at high speed traveling in packs ETC. Many of those bikes, ATVs are stolen. This is far from what we did in the muscle car era of the 60-70s. Some of these kids get arrested, vehicles confiscated and the usual local big mouths start screaming police brutality.

Could say a lot more but will not!

 

[Retired W4]

It has gotten pretty bad in the ATL area. It is NOT street racing. Just a bunch of punks doing doughnuts in an intersection. The tire marks showed up less than a 1/2 mile from my house. Occasionally they are in my cul-de-sac, late at night dragging up the street. If I catch them at it I have a little surprise for them because calling the police does not help.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I say Impound the cars.
It’s their Life Style, so put a crimp in their lifestyle.
When they come to Court and explain their Lifestyle to the Judge.
They’ll find out He’s got a Lifestyle too!

 

[LVSteve]

Two years running these clowns took over an intersection in the NW part of the Vegas valley at New Year's because they knew Metro and NHP were fully committed on the Strip and would do nothing. They did bottle up one crowd a few months ago and seize a bunch of unregistered vehicles and cite a bunch of folk for other stuff. IMHO nothing will really be done until a car kills somebody, or a person in the neighborhood gets po'd enough with the noise and lack of LE response to step outside with an AK/AR and some mags and let rip. Then let the hand wringing begin.

 

[bigwheelzip]

There was a motorcycle flashmob street racing in Manhattan that attacked a family in an SUV. The driver tried to escape by driving over the bikes blocking him. The bikers chased the vehicle until traffic blocked him, then dragged him from his car and beat him in front of his wife and young children.
One of the attackers beating him was later IDed as an off-duty NYPD policeman.

Road Rage: NYC Motorcycle Attack - YouTube


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[dockmurgw]

Hondas and Subarus with obnoxious loud exhaust systems are soooooo coooool!!!

 

[bruce5781]

My stepfather was a notorious street racer in the 50's & 60's in Elmira, NY. He would set up races from his bar. I remember him getting a full page write-up in the local paper when they finally caught him with a road block one Friday night. He generally ran on the highways and didn't disturb other folks much.

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[LostintheOzone]

Most of the racing I see is on I-5 south of me in the metro area of Seattle/Tacoma. 100 mph with two or three cars racing is pretty common. The speed limit there is 60 mph. Pretty dangerous and people die almost every month.

 

[mckenney99]

This news story & video is a prime example of why these pop up street races are so dangerous. Most end in either a crash with each other, a by stander or as in the attached story a fixed object. This was an expensive lesson for the driver of a Doge Viper that was old enough to know better. What a putz.
VIDEO: Suspected street racing caught on camera in Dayton comes with warning – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio

 

[Telecaster]

My concern is if these are feral humans living out Clockwork Orange.

 

[Babysitr]

There is a big difference between organized charity car shows and cruises, and the above..My wife and I have been donating to,and judging local car shows for 7 years and I've never seen a race or burnout or accident for that matter yet...hope it stays that way

 

[jag312]

The so-called street racing is just a pile of bovine manure. I raced, but at track where everything is controlled for safety. I used to call Laguna Seca my home away from home. The infamous turn 8; The Cork Screw. When you take The Cork Screw just right, you know that you have accomplished something.

 

[Retired W4]

Two years running these clowns took over an intersection in the NW part of the Vegas valley at New Year's because they knew Metro and NHP were fully committed on the Strip and would do nothing. They did bottle up one crowd a few months ago and seize a bunch of unregistered vehicles and cite a bunch of folk for other stuff. IMHO nothing will really be done until a car kills somebody, or a person in the neighborhood gets po'd enough with the noise and lack of LE response to step outside with an AK/AR and some mags and let rip. Then let the hand wringing begin.

I was thinking something a little more suppressed... I mean subdued.