Kids Caught Drag Racing

[faster]

This last weekend 30 miles south of me in Ocala, Florida people were racing in an abandoned parking lot. Evidently it had been going on for some time because the cops infiltrated the racing undercover, held everyone including spectators and ticketed them all.

Yea I know racing is illegal but they kept it off the street where they would not hurt anyone but themselves. They should have been given a warning and told to stop before busting them all seeing as no one had gotten hurt.

Mikey

[StfSocal]

ya, same stuff goin down here on the west side. get caught street racing or intending to race(revving motors, lineing up, etc) and regardless if its street or lot car gets impounded and if our city attorney gets her way, the cars impounded go STRAIGHT TO THE CRUSHER!!!!! super weak but thats san diego for you, its due to the amount of kids dying and killing innocent people while racing their rice cars. yet the city has yet to make a quality dragstrip where these kids can go. only options they have are events twice a month in the crappy parking lot of Qualcomm Stadium, or drive way outta the way to barona dragstrip. oh well
~scott

[verruckt]

Do traffic laws apply on private property? Not trying to spark a huge debate, but it would seem to me that all the cops could do is bust everyone for trespassing.

[70sLark]

Originally Posted by verruckt

Do traffic laws apply on private property?

Search around the net, every few year you will see a thread pop up where someone got a ticket for doing a burn out in their own driveway.

[verruckt]

Originally Posted by 70sLark

Search around the net, every few year you will see a thread pop up where someone got a ticket for doing a burn out in their own driveway.

Well sure, i could think of any number of laws that would apply in the situation you stated. But not a moving violation, that's my point. Can you get a wreckless driving ticket in a parking lot at Walmart? That's what i'm getting at. I'm no expert on the law, I'm just saying I don't see how they could do anything other than write a trespass ticket.

[70sLark]

Originally Posted by verruckt

Can you get a wreckless driving ticket in a parking lot at Walmart? That's what i'm getting at.

Yes, I got one in the mall parking lot when younger for speeding. Since they couldn't get me for speeding, I got wreck op.

couldn't of been doing more then 45, cop never even saw it.
he went on the word of some smoe in the parking lot.

Like most of them tickets they know 99% of folks wont fight and just pay, which is all they want.

[65specialconver]

In this day & age,if someone got hurt,they could try to sue the property owner for not restricting access to the lot.Even though they shouldnt be racing there in the first place!

[RAMKAT2]

Years ago (1975), a bunch of us were drag racing out on a long stretch of county road we called 3 mile lane just outside of Lawson, MO.
Well a couple of the guys there cracked open the headers , and it wasn't long before the local yokel shows up with his flashing lights and his ticket book. That night I was just a spectator, and we all acted like one of the guys car was broke down and the bunch of us were there to help out.
Officer Bob wasn't buying it, and asked all of us to start our cars, one by one. The two guys with open headers were busted immediately, and got the lions share of the tickets. I was driving a bone stock single exhaust Caprice that night, and he couldn't even tell I had the car running. I was the only car owner that left without a warning or a stack of tickets. But no one got hurt, no one had their cars impounded, and other than a lighter wallet for a couple of the guys, no harm was done.
Funny part is, we thought we were really getting hassled by the cops back then. We didn't know how lucky we were.

[austingta]

Here in Texas, where we take personal liberty seriously, there is a state law that you can be arrested for DUI on your own property. I don't know of any other vehicle infractions that are illegal on your own property.

[70sLark]

Originally Posted by RAMKAT2

Years ago (1975), a bunch of us were drag racing out on a long stretch of county road we called 3 mile lane just outside of Lawson, MO.
Well a couple of the guys there cracked open the headers , and it wasn't long before the local yokel shows up with his flashing lights and his ticket book. That night I was just a spectator, and we all acted like one of the guys car was broke down and the bunch of us were there to help out.
Officer Bob wasn't buying it, and asked all of us to start our cars, one by one. The two guys with open headers were busted immediately, and got the lions share of the tickets. I was driving a bone stock single exhaust Caprice that night, and he couldn't even tell I had the car running. I was the only car owner that left without a warning or a stack of tickets. But no one got hurt, no one had their cars impounded, and other than a lighter wallet for a couple of the guys, no harm was done.
Funny part is, we thought we were really getting hassled by the cops back then. We didn't know how lucky we were.

Good one, yep all the stuff we did as kids is now a major cluster youknow.

Could be that each generation took it up a notch.

I miss the fri/sat night drag races down front street.
Just motorcycle though.

But racing down a bone rattlin, tooth chipin old country road with no side street for miles, a clear view for miles was the safest fun you could have, cept for the big ditch. But everyone always made room and no one ever got hurt. Maybe we used up all the luck?

Think everyone has a country or out of the wayroad in your town where you never see anyone else there but the contest of who can leave the longest mark is clearly on the pavement.

[71skylark3504v]

Originally Posted by RAMKAT2

Years ago (1975), a bunch of us were drag racing out on a long stretch of county road we called 3 mile lane just outside of Lawson, MO.
Well a couple of the guys there cracked open the headers , and it wasn't long before the local yokel shows up with his flashing lights and his ticket book. That night I was just a spectator, and we all acted like one of the guys car was broke down and the bunch of us were there to help out.
Officer Bob wasn't buying it, and asked all of us to start our cars, one by one. The two guys with open headers were busted immediately, and got the lions share of the tickets. I was driving a bone stock single exhaust Caprice that night, and he couldn't even tell I had the car running. I was the only car owner that left without a warning or a stack of tickets. But no one got hurt, no one had their cars impounded, and other than a lighter wallet for a couple of the guys, no harm was done.
Funny part is, we thought we were really getting hassled by the cops back then. We didn't know how lucky we were.

I liked this story!

[1967GS340]

It's unfortunate, but being right doesn't bother the cops or the D.A. a lot of the time. Not many people are willing to, or able to afford to chase it all the way up the court system. As an example, when Heller vs. D.C. was heard by the supreme court and they ruled that D.C. was in violation of the constitutional rights of the citizens, instead of saying sorry and making things right they said they are still going to make it very hard for you to own a gun. They know how long and how much money it takes to beat them in court, so they don't care. This happens with all types of laws.

[GStage1]

Stupid on their part.....30 miles, north in Gainesville is one of the best tracks in the state. When I was in college there...........Sat night was drag night and you can run all night for $10. Just plain ole-stupid to drag race w/o safety and bragging rights with an accurate time slip.

[2manybuicks]

Hey, assuming the kids owned the parking lot or signed liability waivers in triplicate with the actual owners, had liability waivers from the actual owners of the cars (their parents in about 50% of the cases, I imagine), had proper insurance, had approved safety gear, had speed-appropriate roll bars and safety cages, passed pre-race inspection, had a paid medical emergency team on hand, erected concrete safety barriers in the event a car lost control to protect the crowd, I have no idea why the cops would harrass them. Unbelievable.

-- Steve

[iacovoni]

Originally Posted by verruckt

Do traffic laws apply on private property? Not trying to spark a huge debate, but it would seem to me that all the cops could do is bust everyone for trespassing.

The man is correct. Shouldn't they be focusing on real crimes. There are plenty of people out there by far creating more havoc than some car racing.

Plus, I hate it when people forget that they were young once, especially the fuzz.

[tom65special]

First of all I like racing. There are tracks around to race at. To do it in a parking lot with a bunch of kids that think they can drive is stupid. Take a look around you tube and see what happens with some of these kids. No safety equipment. As far as the city putting up a drag strip. It's not the City's job to pay for a drag strip. Maybe some enterprising young street racer could buy some land and set up a track the right way. He'd make a killing. Let me know when one of you guys have to respond to a mishap at one of these harmless street races. You can tell the parent that little Johnny lost control and hit a half a dozen kids and Johnny's in jail. I can't stand the nobody got hurt defense. It's ignorant. If a kid went to a mall and started shooting the place up but didn't hurt anybody, should he be able to go free? I think not. A car can be a weapon, just like a gun, when put in the wrong hands an used improperly.

[Fenno]

Drag racing is part of being a petrol head which I am,...There is a place to drag race, Most towns have or should have drag nights for all to attend regardless of how many horses you have under the bonnet, That are supervised and run properly. This would be a great recession buster for the risk takers of this world I.E. build a quarter mile track in the back paddock and charge people to have a run.... Insurance may be a problem but all the same may be worth looking at..

Fenno

[Ken Mild]

Originally Posted by faster

This last weekend 30 miles south of me in Ocala, Florida people were racing in an abandoned parking lot. Evidently it had been going on for some time because the cops infiltrated the racing undercover, held everyone including spectators and ticketed them all.

Yea I know racing is illegal but they kept it off the street where they would not hurt anyone but themselves. They should have been given a warning and told to stop before busting them all seeing as no one had gotten hurt.

Mikey

I don't think un-sanctioned parking lot racing is smart. Especially with how stupid the kids drive these days. Ticketed the spectators though? How the hell can you do that? What grounds? It's not like they paid for it or anything and it's not like the race wouldn't have happened if they didn't show up. That's BS.

[iacovoni]

Your telling me you never driven stupid..............? I find that hard to believe. How bout' when you put in a long Saturday wrenchin' on your ride. Your telling me you wait till you can get to a strip and see what it does?
B.S., your whippin' around your block looking for the next victim to eat up. Give me a break.
Yeah, it's a shame that people get hurt, but there is an idiot in every crowd. Don't matter the activity, I've seen people get hurt eating an ice cream cone.

I also find it hard to believe you were smart right out of the box, how many stupid things did you do as a kid and learned from your mistakes. You never get it right the first time.

[2manybuicks]

As far as ticketing the spectators goes, it's the law and the only way to allow the cops to ticket more than two people at a time. otherwise they all say "hey, we was just been watchin, dude,".

same way the getaway driver and the accomplice in any crime involving a murder can be charged with murder. it discourages the crime and helps avoid the "i was jus drivin -- he was shootin" defense.

-- Steve

[tom65special]

Originally Posted by iacovoni

Your telling me you never driven stupid..............? I find that hard to believe. How bout' when you put in a long Saturday wrenchin' on your ride. Your telling me you wait till you can get to a strip and see what it does?
B.S., your whippin' around your block looking for the next victim to eat up. Give me a break.
Yeah, it's a shame that people get hurt, but there is an idiot in every crowd. Don't matter the activity, I've seen people get hurt eating an ice cream cone.

I also find it hard to believe you were smart right out of the box, how many stupid things did you do as a kid and learned from your mistakes. You never get it right the first time.

I don't street race. I have too much money invested in my car to have some little turd loose control and run into me. Or for the car to pull out in front of me and I end up t-boning the car. I like what I have worked very hard to get and I would like to keep it. When I was a kid I did drive stupid some times. I got caught and got tickets and got worse from my dad. Today's parents use the my son wouldn't do that or the Police are harassing them. I know kids will do stupid things from time to time. I recently took a complaint on two kids in a residential neighborhood, that neither lived in, trying to "drift" in a 95 ish dodge avenger and a 98 ish escort. I explained to both kids how I liked fast cars and encouraged them to go to a track and see what it's all about. Leaving for work the other day I see a lumina and some other sedan going through my neighborhood. They are side by side at about 50 on a block that is about 300 yards long that empties onto a four lane thats going 45. They caught an a55 chewing and got sent away, no tickets.

[tom65special]

Heres a good one from you tube. Just harmless fun.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXXHVoc5hOc

[yacster]

Originally Posted by iacovoni

The man is correct. Shouldn't they be focusing on real crimes. There are plenty of people out there by far creating more havoc than some car racing.

Plus, I hate it when people forget that they were young once, especially the fuzz.

Joe- Your well thought out comment above shows where your head is at. Some where between your knees and nipples is my guess. Anyway, Cops don't get to pick the crimes they investigate, the public makes a complaint and they investigate the complaint. That's the way it works.

Heres my .02 - Gainsville HAS a dragway (unlike many areas that don't) why didn't all of them get together at the track? Here is why- The cars are not set up legal or safe enough to run at the track. They can't drink or do drugs at the track because the track security will throw them out. Going to the track takes the "outlaw" fast and furious BS feel out of the whole night for the spectators. - I don't think those facts can be disputed?

[Ken Mild]

Originally Posted by iacovoni

Your telling me you never driven stupid..............? I find that hard to believe. How bout' when you put in a long Saturday wrenchin' on your ride. Your telling me you wait till you can get to a strip and see what it does?
B.S., your whippin' around your block looking for the next victim to eat up. Give me a break.
Yeah, it's a shame that people get hurt, but there is an idiot in every crowd. Don't matter the activity, I've seen people get hurt eating an ice cream cone.

I also find it hard to believe you were smart right out of the box, how many stupid things did you do as a kid and learned from your mistakes. You never get it right the first time.

You're right. I've definitely done stupid things. I guess my point is that if anyone is gonna get summonsed let it be the drag racers not the people just standing around. Unless they got trespassing tickets in which case it's totally valid.

Also, if I had to weigh out the dangers of drag racing in a crowd of people in a parking lot or eating ice cream, I gotta give the nod to the ice cream.

All kidding aside though, in retrospect, I don't see as large a danger in a parking lot as I do on the street. At least not to other drivers or people around you. Is it legal though? No. Therefore, it's stupid. Quite simple to understand.

[Gasoline]

Originally Posted by StfSocal

.... only options they have are events twice a month in the crappy parking lot of Qualcomm Stadium, or drive way outta the way to barona dragstrip. oh well
~scott

Mexico is an option

http://www.1320video.com/Dec1Mexico.php