Street racers’ souped-up cars crushed

[cobra de capell]

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.



So, don't be racing your Cobra on the street in Southern CA!

[imagine2frolic]

After what happened in Tennesse I am thinking this is not so bad. After all street racing is illegal, and I am sure there was an ordinance passed as a warning.

Have you ever seen the insanity of Oakland Ca.? The cars are surrounded by groups of people, and the cars are doing doughnuts amongst the crowd. It's not uncommon for something to go wrong. The people's blood gets to boiling from the adrenaline, and then there are fights, and even gang rapes. Drugs, and liquor are a big part of it too! Save the racing for a safer enviroment!

[Bryan Wilson]

In Australia speed or do a burnout and you can loose your car
Read this article
Cheers,
Bryan

[Ron61]

It isn't nearly that bad up here because we don't have the amount of people, but the speeding is really bad. And no one seems to ever be stopped as they just don't have enough police to patrol all the freeway and roads around here. It is a huge area to cover and just not enough law enforcement to cover it. I can go for days and not see a CHP car.

Ron

Of course I avoid Red Bluff as that has always been a real bonanza for the CHP on the I-5 just South of there.

[Wayne Maybury]

Bryan

Can you please give us a definition for "hoon"?

I sure am glad that these laws weren't around when I was younger.

Thanks,
Wayne

[wtm442]

I do not have a problem with any state that wants to crush rice burners.

[Ron61]

Some of those Rice Burners can push your Cobra to the limit. And it is amazing at what some of the kids can do with them in the way of tuning. I don't like to see any car crushed as it just means they are getting closer to more laws to get more cars into the crusher. Wonder if we could get a politician junk yard and crusher?

Ron

[Jamo]

Hmmm...wished they'd do that to Sen. Migden's state-owned vehicle.

http://www.mrcranky.com/movies/shrekthethird/94.html

[Mark IV]

To "Hoon" is to drive wild and free.

Oh, the humanity! Those fart cans were too young to die!

Rick

[Bryan Wilson]

Wayne,
You are considered to be "Hooning" if you break traction.
So you only have to chirp the tyres and if a cop deems it was intentional you can loose your car.

[PatBuckley]

I assume those cars are all paid for? If not, I wonder what the banks think about this.

What is next - they burn your house down if they find drugs in it?

[Ron61]

Pat,

Not yet but don't let them find any older appliances that aren't state approved in your house. I had to have my water heater changed because the old one started leaking and I couldn't believe what they had me go through and then the inspector told me that the old kitchen range and refrigerator were not energy efficient and I should get rid of them. Oh, and they don't have earth quake straps on them either.

Ron

[HI Cobra]

Jamo,
About Migden -
Interesting read - the sad thing is the taxpayers will foot the bill, nothing
will be done to her, and last but not least, she will probably get reelected.

The article on the crushing made it to Newsweek - a big factor on whether
or not it gets crushed is if it is proven that stolen parts etc were used in
the tuning of the car in question. Another way to try to slow down the
hot parts market.

[Ron61]

Bryan,

Your laws are as bad as ours or worse in some cases. Here if you chirp a tire they can write you up for speed exhibition even if you are barely moving and that is a pretty steep fine, but they can't take the car unless you have been drinking or there are some other circumstances.

Ron

[Cobrabill]

Warren-what happens when they move on from "Ricers" to Cobras?Or GTOs,Chevelles,442s etc?
You gonna laugh then?or are you going to say that we(the rest of the car community)should have stuck up for the ricers n the beginning.

[wtm442]

CobraBill - you miss the point entirely!

Anyone caught street racing should be punished. Its foolish, dangerous and illegal (funny thing bout that).

You want to race? Do it on a track. With all of the ricer cars crushed, there will be less traffic for my Cobra and 442.

[Cobrabill]

No,i did not miss the point.NO-ONES car should be crushed.Punish the driver.

Last year there were over a 170,000 alcohol related deaths on the road.Street racing killed less than 200.

So we should confiscate & crush the ricers cars?

[PatBuckley]

Are you sure about that 170,000 number?

I realize that alcohol plays a part in most traffic fatalities (your point) but it was my belief that the annual traffic death total was around 50,000 and going down....

I think if one looked at the number of street racing deaths vs how many people actually street race, these kind of draconian statutes come into focus.

[PatBuckley]

I just looked it up - in 2005 there were 43,443 traffic deaths (down from the highest year, 1988, when there were 47,087 deaths) of which 39% or 16,885 were alcohol related (down from the highest year, 1982, when 60% of all traffic fatalaties were alcohol related. (!)


Our cars are safer and we are learning how to be better drunk drivers.

Pat

BTW - I missed the part in the first post where the cops need to prove that the serial numbers have been altered or are missing - that changes everything, IMO....

[BEH]

There was a horrific accident last Monday when a transport truck was cut off on Hwy 400 and the driver was killed when he was cut off by 3 street racers and went into the ditch.
The Ontario Gov't is now threatining to destroy any cars caught street racing or has been illeagly modified for street racing.