The entire south Charlotte street racing scene just got busted, "2 Fast 2 Furious" style

[TravisT]

hehe, I can't believe we have some people taking the side of the racers. The dumb kids are lucky that they didn't lose their lives instead of their cars looking at some of the ages and likely unexperienced drivers.

They certainly didn't just have their cars all fixed up for looks. They were more than likely racing them, the police more than likely have evidence from their four month surveillance, and this should be a lesson learned for the young drivers.

If they want to race they should take it to a legitimate track where things are more controlled.

 

[Gulzakar]

The article says there was an undercover operative there...

pretty much? They can do what they want. This isn't BS at all, the Police are doing something about a problem.

Everytime one of you says "where's a cop when you need one?"...well, there you go.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: rh71
wasn't there an instructional vid for officers on how to tell a car is for street racing .. and if so they can get busted for it... they didn't have to be racing at the time.

I believe that was an instructional video on how to spot illegal modifications that are common with street racers, but you get busted for the illegal modification not street racing.

That was in California though, most states don't have such strict laws.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: pnad

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Here are more details:

Text

This is going to hurt:
"Their cars, some valued at up to $40,000, likely will be sold at a public auction, police said."

And that is what bothers me the most. I am all for nailing kids street racing. Fine them, jail them, pull their DL for 10 years - whatever. I feel that confiscating a vehicle worth anywhere from 10 to 40k is insane and unjust.

No, it's called a deterrent. I'm all for it.

The US constitution specifically prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures" and "excessive fines imposed".

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: OS

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: pnad

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Here are more details:

Text

This is going to hurt:
"Their cars, some valued at up to $40,000, likely will be sold at a public auction, police said."

And that is what bothers me the most. I am all for nailing kids street racing. Fine them, jail them, pull their DL for 10 years - whatever. I feel that confiscating a vehicle worth anywhere from 10 to 40k is insane and unjust.

No, it's called a deterrent. I'm all for it.

The US constitution specifically prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures" and "excessive fines imposed".

Isn't the gov't allowed to sell items seized from suspects even before they are found guilty? Not something I totally agree with.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman

Originally posted by: OS

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: pnad

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Here are more details:

Text

This is going to hurt:
"Their cars, some valued at up to $40,000, likely will be sold at a public auction, police said."

And that is what bothers me the most. I am all for nailing kids street racing. Fine them, jail them, pull their DL for 10 years - whatever. I feel that confiscating a vehicle worth anywhere from 10 to 40k is insane and unjust.

No, it's called a deterrent. I'm all for it.

The US constitution specifically prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures" and "excessive fines imposed".

Isn't the gov't allowed to sell items seized from suspects even before they are found guilty? Not something I totally agree with.

I don't know about allowed, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did it anyways. It's just no one has bothered suing over it yet.

It's just a matter of time before police seize the wrong car on relatively minor charges and their going to get their asses sued off.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
another case of young people having an interest in a specific hobby(cars, tuning etc) and not having an organized and legal outlet to pursue the hobby. These kids are actually quite harmless until they start driving recklessly on public roads. Solution: create a speed way where they can hang out and race on a closed course.

That is BS. Kids are stupid. There is a track locally that is open 4 nights a week for exactly this type of use yet the dumbass ricers still use the street. It has been this way for a long time. The kids don't want to follow any rules so they just do as they please. This situation also involves STOLEN parts which means the kids are not so harmless.

I'm sure the track has rules that are excluding these kids somehow. an dthe stolen parts are alleged. whether the people knew the parts were stolen is not apparent from the article. well if the course isn't open during the hours the kids want to race its not much good.

 

[Baked]

Our Target looks just like that one!

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: OS

The US constitution specifically prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures" and "excessive fines imposed".

I don't know what basis you have for saying it is an unreasonable seizure, because we don't even know WHY the cars were seized other than the 6 that (allegedly) had stolen parts in them. And it's not a fine.

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
I'm sure the track has rules that are excluding these kids somehow. an dthe stolen parts are alleged. whether the people knew the parts were stolen is not apparent from the article. well if the course isn't open during the hours the kids want to race its not much good.

It's OK to race in traffic because the race track isn't convenient?

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: OS

The US constitution specifically prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures" and "excessive fines imposed".

I don't know what basis you have for saying it is an unreasonable seizure, because we don't even know WHY the cars were seized other than the 6 that (allegedly) had stolen parts in them. And it's not a fine.

On the flipside, you have no basis to claim the seizure was completely fair and reasonable. In some states/counties the police made a giant hoopla that they will seize your car for just basic speed contest. I'm just saying the police are walking a fine line and they just need to screw up once on the wrong car/guy to get their asses sued.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: TravisT
hehe, I can't believe we have some people taking the side of the racers. The dumb kids are lucky that they didn't lose their lives instead of their cars looking at some of the ages and likely unexperienced drivers.

They certainly didn't just have their cars all fixed up for looks. They were more than likely racing them, the police more than likely have evidence from their four month surveillance, and this should be a lesson learned for the young drivers.

If they want to race they should take it to a legitimate track where things are more controlled.

Except for the stolen parts (I'm glad they busted that), what if this had been a meet and cruise of 50's and 60's hot rods and muscle cars? Oops, I bet your tone would be different then, wouldn't it?

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
I'm sure the track has rules that are excluding these kids somehow. an dthe stolen parts are alleged. whether the people knew the parts were stolen is not apparent from the article. well if the course isn't open during the hours the kids want to race its not much good.

Of course the track has rules and those rules are founded in keeping everyone SAFE....which a street racing punk couldn't care less about. I have not seen many ricers excluded from the track. Their cars are not usually fast enough to fall under the umbrella of lots of safety equipment and if your car is that fast and you don't take safety into account then you are an idiot. But then again, you have to be an idiot to be a ricer to begin with.

You claim the kids are only on the street because their is no LEGAL venue for their activities but there are such venues and they have RULES which the kids prefer not to follow. You also bitch that maybe the hours the track is open does not coincide with the time the kids want to race. You are either a hypocrite or simply dense.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Vic

Except for the stolen parts (I'm glad they busted that), what if this had been a meet and cruise of 50's and 60's hot rods and muscle cars? Oops, I bet your tone would be different then, wouldn't it?

Of course, since those types of events are usually populated by responsible adults.

EDIT - I am not saying the kids should be busted for simply hanging out and getting together to talk cars, if that is what they are doing. It makes no difference that they are ricers to me but most of these ad-hoc meetings lead to illegal racing.

 

[pnad]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: pnad

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Here are more details:

Text

This is going to hurt:
"Their cars, some valued at up to $40,000, likely will be sold at a public auction, police said."

And that is what bothers me the most. I am all for nailing kids street racing. Fine them, jail them, pull their DL for 10 years - whatever. I feel that confiscating a vehicle worth anywhere from 10 to 40k is insane and unjust.

No, it's called a deterrent. I'm all for it.

Chopping off the hands of thieves is an excellent deterrent also, but it doesn't make it 'right'.

What if it was mom&dad's car?

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Originally posted by: Rickten

Originally posted by: intogamer
how you going to run on foot leaving your car behind?

say it was stolen. Guy I know flipped his car into the ditch while drunk, got out called his gf to come get him, drove back to the party and reported his car stolen.

Insurance totaled his car and he got a new car.

WHHHAATTT?

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
I'm sure the track has rules that are excluding these kids somehow. an dthe stolen parts are alleged. whether the people knew the parts were stolen is not apparent from the article. well if the course isn't open during the hours the kids want to race its not much good.

Of course the track has rules and those rules are founded in keeping everyone SAFE....which a street racing punk couldn't care less about. I have not seen many ricers excluded from the track. Their cars are not usually fast enough to fall under the umbrella of lots of safety equipment and if your car is that fast and you don't take safety into account then you are an idiot. But then again, you have to be an idiot to be a ricer to begin with.

You claim the kids are only on the street because their is no LEGAL venue for their activities but there are such venues and they have RULES which the kids prefer not to follow. You also bitch that maybe the hours the track is open does not coincide with the time the kids want to race. You are either a hypocrite or simply dense.

ok.

 

[UDT89]

Originally posted by: Rickten

Originally posted by: intogamer
how you going to run on foot leaving your car behind?

say it was stolen. Guy I know flipped his car into the ditch while drunk, got out called his gf to come get him, drove back to the party and reported his car stolen.

Insurance totaled his car and he got a new car.

thank ur friend for high car insurance rates.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: Vic

Except for the stolen parts (I'm glad they busted that), what if this had been a meet and cruise of 50's and 60's hot rods and muscle cars? Oops, I bet your tone would be different then, wouldn't it?

Of course, since those types of events are usually populated by responsible adults.

EDIT - I am not saying the kids should be busted for simply hanging out and getting together to talk cars, if that is what they are doing. It makes no difference that they are ricers to me but most of these ad-hoc meetings lead to illegal racing.

Right.... and I suppose they were all populated by "responsible adults" back in the day too? It's amazing the rose-colored glasses that people wear when they look back at the "good ol' days." Do you know why drag racing is traditionally a 1/4-mile? That was the common stoplight-to-stoplight distance in suburban Southern California (and yes, that means they went through the 2nd stoplight -- the finish line -- at full speed).

 

[UDT89]

not sure if anyone commented...

but did any of you read the article? they were investigating for 4 months......

and dragging on the highway.

 

[chairbornrangerx]

if they were any good, they wouldn't have got caught =)

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: UDT89
not sure if anyone commented...

but did any of you read the article? they were investigating for 4 months......

and dragging on the highway.

Did you know that the term "drag" racing comes from 50's hot rod enthusiasts (racers) meeting at old drive-ins? They'd meet and brag about how fast their cars were until finally one would challenge another to a stoplight-to-stoplight race, whereupon the other would say, "Oh yeah? then drag that piece of sh!t of yours out."

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Vic
[Right.... and I suppose they were all populated by "responsible adults" back in the day too? It's amazing the rose-colored glasses that people wear when they look back at the "good ol' days." Do you know why drag racing is traditionally a 1/4-mile? That was the common stoplight-to-stoplight distance in suburban Southern California (and yes, that means they went through the 2nd stoplight -- the finish line -- at full speed).

I'm not talking about what people did DECADES ago, I am talking about NOW. I go to plenty of cruise nights and such where all the cars are 50s and 60s Hotrods, Classics, and Muscle Cars. The people there are mostly adults and are responsible. No one goes off and races. If they want to race they go to the dragstrip and do so. That is not why they are there. If there are younger people there trying to drum up a street race they are going to get laughed at and ignored until they go on their merry way.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: Vic

Except for the stolen parts (I'm glad they busted that), what if this had been a meet and cruise of 50's and 60's hot rods and muscle cars? Oops, I bet your tone would be different then, wouldn't it?

Of course, since those types of events are usually populated by responsible adults.

EDIT - I am not saying the kids should be busted for simply hanging out and getting together to talk cars, if that is what they are doing. It makes no difference that they are ricers to me but most of these ad-hoc meetings lead to illegal racing.

Right.... and I suppose they were all populated by "responsible adults" back in the day too? It's amazing the rose-colored glasses that people wear when they look back at the "good ol' days." Do you know why drag racing is traditionally a 1/4-mile? That was the common stoplight-to-stoplight distance in suburban Southern California (and yes, that means they went through the 2nd stoplight -- the finish line -- at full speed).

And cops busted people for illegal racing and illegal modifications to your car back then too.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: Vic
[Right.... and I suppose they were all populated by "responsible adults" back in the day too? It's amazing the rose-colored glasses that people wear when they look back at the "good ol' days." Do you know why drag racing is traditionally a 1/4-mile? That was the common stoplight-to-stoplight distance in suburban Southern California (and yes, that means they went through the 2nd stoplight -- the finish line -- at full speed).

I'm not talking about what people did DECADES ago, I am talking about NOW. I go to plenty of cruise nights and such where all the cars are 50s and 60s Hotrods, Classics, and Muscle Cars. The people there are mostly adults and are responsible. No one goes off and races. If they want to race they go to the dragstrip and do so. That is not why they are there. If there are younger people there trying to drum up a street race they are going to get laughed at and ignored until they go on their merry way.

OK... at the same time, I belong to a Subaru enthuiasts club (what some here might call "ricers"), and when we meet we never do more than cruise, if even that. Street racing is more than frowned upon ("take it to the track"), and a person found with stolen parts on their car would probably get their ass kicked before the police were called.

So yeah, generalizations suck.

 

[Specop 007]

I weep for our future.

Per the article "One Mustang had a racing engine in it, police said."

As a gun owner I realize what this statement truly means. My deer rifle in the closet? The media calls it a "sniper rifle capable of killing people from far away". No, its a deer rifle. Just a plain old rifle.

They've done it to engines now too it seems. Sorry charlie, that engine in your car? Thats not an engine. Thats a "performance tuned racing engine. It has no business on our streets and in our communities".

I say again, I weep for our future.