Racing in LA and it's consequences...

[TonyL]

Soooo... all the cops in LA have to do is wait outside the gate of any NHRA sactioned "Street legal drag" night and load all the cars from the track, driving under their own power up and smash them.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Despotism at it's finest.

[speedster]

I guess that means that every "new" muscle car coming out of Detroit can be crushed at will - Corvettes, Shelby Mustangs, the new Challenger and Camaro, Vipers. Anything with more than 400 hp could be considered a vehicle with the intent to race. Does this make all crate cars companies guity of selling "contraband" vehicles ? Unique, Year One, DSE, Foose, Trepanier, etc. They may as well shut down SEMA and PRI while they are at it. If they are caught in the act of real street racing for money with spectators, then I agree. Other than that it is pure B.S. and violation of Due Process. 'nuff said.

[Jims78elky]

Despotism at it's finest.

You nailed it Ralph..


-Jim

[WS6]

Who said they were crushing cars based on some added parts? I thought it was merely hearsay at this point?

They should have auctioned the parts off instead of crushing them.

[69Pony]

Who said they were crushing cars based on some added parts? I thought it was merely hearsay at this point?

And there you go.... This thread got into a lot of hearsay. From what I've read those tuners in my original post were caught street racing and went through the whole court process before they were crushed.

I also believe a cop can't just stop you and check under your hood and decide your car is going to be impounded and crushed. That is crazy even by Kalifornia standards.

However, unlike most of you I believe this is a great deterent to a very bad problem in SoCal. Every where you look there are tuners flying down the major highways at high rates of speed weaving in and out of heavy traffic. Often times with some idiot hanging out of the passenger window video taping. Don't believe me - check YouTube. It is filled with these idiots. I was in Santa Monica in the spring and on the SM freeway I saw several incidents of this and they are plain stupid and dangerous. An RX-7 and Supra passed me doing well over 120mph - the Supra was passing on the shoulder!

No respect for other lives - they deserve to have their cars crushed. Same goes for those idiots on those superbikes weaving in and out of traffic. No regard for others....

Now I'm not a prude - I spin a tire or two and have been known to put my foot into it. And I always choose an area to do that in that is not populated. I know that's a cop-out since I am still breaking the law. But if MD were to institute these laws I certainly would think twice before I lost my $50K ride.

I lost a good friend to some idiots racing down a busy street. They ran a red light and t-boned her. It was a terrible site to see. A once beautiful young woman splattered all over the interior of a car you couldn't tell the front from the back. They received 18 months.....

[Chad-1stGen]

Well in reading the news article not all of the 6 car's crushed were found actually street racing. Some guy got pulled over with a broken tail light. However, they are running #'s of the parts on the car and if it's stolen it gets crushed too.

By GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writer Wed Jun 20, 6:52 PM ET


RIALTO, Calif. - Charles Hoang winced when the whoosh went out of the tires. Daniel Maldonado took pictures with a digital camera as glass exploded and rained down to the ground.

The cars the teens had so meticulously souped up and tricked out were crushed Wednesday as part of a crackdown on illegal street racing in Southern California.
"That's my heart, my dream," said Hoang, 18, of Chino, who was surrounded by friends as his 1998 Acura Integra was put into a compactor. "That's my girlfriend, the love of my life. The cops can crush my car, but they can't crush my memories."
Authorities destroyed six vehicles Wednesday at an auto graveyard, hoping would-be racers think again after looking at the mashed machines. Illegal street racing is responsible for or suspected in 13 deaths in Southern California since March.
The thrill-seeking, adrenaline-pumping activity is rampant in Riverside and San Bernardino counties east of Los Angeles where rows of tract homes line wide streets that attract racers.
Nearly 1,000 people — drivers and spectators — have been arrested for investigation of street racing activities over the past two years in San Bernardino County alone. Police need a court order to destroy the cars. They must prove that the serial or identification numbers on a vehicle or its parts are removed, altered or destroyed.
Police said they have managed to reduce illegal racing and related fatal collisions, but know the underground hobby still thrives.
"We are making a dent," said Ontario police Cpl. Jeff Higbee. "But it's summertime and ... we expect to see more activity."
Hoang said he was caught late last year racing his prized car, on which he spent at least $10,000 to get into top shape. The 350-horsepower engine topped out at 160 mph, Hoang said, swearing it could beat a Corvette or even a Ferrari.
When police popped open the hood, Hoang said, they found a stolen transmission. Hoang flashed a receipt for the transmission he bought from his father who runs an auto shop and doubted the item was hot.
"Everything on that car was practically brand new," Hoang said as he watched his car get moved to auto death row. "They should take out the stuff that matters, auction it off, and give the money to charity."
Because racers put heavy stress on their vehicles, they often burn out or blow up parts. Higbee said the need for the expensive parts has created a "theft mill" where additional cars — usually Hondas or Acuras — are stolen and stripped of the necessary replacements.
Most of the cars police examine are illegally modified. Sergio Zavala, 18, was pulled over in his 1993 yellow Honda Civic for a broken tail light in December. He had purchased a B-20 Vtech engine with a double-overhead cam a couple months before, and after a police investigation, was told it was stolen.
Zavala, who admits he's been involved in street racing, estimates he and his mother spent about $10,000 on improvements to his car.
After watching his Civic demolished, Zavala is left without a car as he plans to attend a fire academy in the fall.
"It's heartbreaking to see this," said Zavala, who graduated from high school last week. "This is where all my time and money went."
Maldonado also said he put plenty of time and effort working on his 1992 black Honda Civic. He was stopped in November by police in what Higbee described as an area where racers gather.

The 18-year-old mechanic said a vehicle identification sticker apparently fell off and without it, police suspected some of the parts were stolen. Maldonado stood several feet away from his car as it was pounded into a heap of metal.
Maldonado said he has taken the advice of police by racing legally on one of several race courses around Southern California. For the money spent in fines and other penalties — on average about $5,000 for illegally modified cars — Higbee said street racers could compete about 250 times a year at a legitimate track.
"If you have to race, take it to a legal venue," Higbee said. "But as long as they keep racing illegally, we keep crushing their cars."
All three men who saw their vehicles destroyed said they believe illegal street racing will continue to prosper across the region. "It will never go away," Maldonado said. "If it's in your heart, you will continue to do it until you can't anymore."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/crushed_h...zhFwbil4dsaMYA

It is still pretty scary IMO. Think what would happen to my 68 Camaro is they ran the serial number on the T56 I bought off ebay and it belonged to a car stolen at some point....

[wills55]

ill say this, i have raced on the street, as im sure alot of other people have. its a chance you take. if you dont want to take the chance of getting your car crushed for street racing or possibly killing or injuring yourself or others, dont street race. everything i put on my car is for exacctly what they think it is for, making it as fast as possible. but to assume that i am racing around all the time at 100mph through traffic, endangering the lives of others is BS. some of these kids with the imports are doing just that, and unfortunatel ym they are the ones that are going to ruin it for all of us. i say build more race tracks, make it cheap to get in. hell i have said it a hundred times, if i had a track close to my house, i would be there every night. i used to be one of the kids with the little turbo imports and i wont lie, i like the cars, so its not the cars its the people driving them. go to a national import event and you will see that the majority of the spectators there and alot of the racers are kids, most not older than 25. as far as our particular type of cars goes, we are alot less likely to get harassed by cops for our loud exhaust and low stance. most of the cops had one or "knew someone in high school that had one just like that" so i think we will be alright. maybe not. maybe im wrong. just my opinion

[68Formula]

Well in reading the news article not all of the 6 car's crushed were found actually street racing. Some guy got pulled over with a broken tail light. However, they are running #'s of the parts on the car and if it's stolen it gets crushed too.





http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/crushed_h...zhFwbil4dsaMYA

It is still pretty scary IMO. Think what would happen to my 68 Camaro is they ran the serial number on the T56 I bought off ebay and it belonged to a car stolen at some point....

How does having a stolen part justify crushing the vehicle? Especially with no proof the owner of the vehicle stone the part?

[Chad-1stGen]

How does having a stolen part justify crushing the vehicle? Especially with no proof the owner of the vehicle stone the part?

You are going to have to ask the LA lawmakers on that one.

I'm simply refering to what was reported in the news article. I quoted the whole article in my post but in case you didn't read it they crushe a kids car becuase when he was pulled over for a broken tail light and they discovered the transmission in his car was stolen. According to the article a lot of cars are being stolen and stripped for parts to repair the street racers cars who obvioulsy are going to break a lot of parts. I don't condone it and think it is rediculous but it happened.

[6'9"Witha69]

How does having a stolen part justify crushing the vehicle? Especially with no proof the owner of the vehicle stone the part?

It is called "Receiving Stolen Property". It is a law in many states and you can be found equally liable (criminally) as the person who stole the part. I am no lawyer but have heard of this. Stupid if you really thought you bought a part off a legit company/person.

[68Formula]

Okay if they can prove you knew it, then it makes sense, but for the unsuspecting person that is totally you know what.

Chad, I wasn't directing the question to you, it was rhetorical. Read the article which still peeves me off that they can do this.

I think we can all agree that these laws are unjust and very "big brother."