Street Racing law question.....

[Big Medicine]

If that were truly the risk... then you would hear about police planting drugs to take someone's house?

Ever hear of the RICO Act? They can take your house if it used in drug traficking......

I doubt a charge would stick unless there were enough evidence to support that someone was illegally street racing.

Give it up.... this is not a play by the "government" to steal your car.... or take away your liberty.

And the policy and government cannot penalize "at-will".... anymore than they can already.... at least.

Uh, yeah....RIGHT.

I suppose our forefathers were wrong about the Revolutionary War too?

I don't want some 23 year old testosterone laden puke with a badge & a gun from po-dunk America to even THINK he has the power to decide whether or not I keep my car. And that is where it all boils down to; the cop makes the initial decision, & then you have to prove your innocence, which can't be done, at least not cost effectively.

If you think this stuff doesn't happen, you're not looking at the evidence.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Just thinking about a law like this makes me absolutely sick. I am SO tempted to put a type of recording system in my car it is not even funny. It DOES come down a to an abuse of power, no matter how you look at it. If you think otherwise, you arent thinking clearly.

EXAMPLE- A buddy of mine with an 01 ACR (viewable in Viper Magazine on page 11, Spring issue 03) was pulled over with me in the car last summer. We pulled away from a light quickly, just as stated earlier, and were sited for STREET RACING!!! We KNEW the cop was back there, I LOOKED RIGHT AT HIM. We didnt break the speed limit, we didnt squeal the tires, we TECHNICALLY did nothing wrong, no matter how you see it. Now...heres the best part: the cop said we were racing a BUICK LeSabre!!! I mean, seriously...give me a break. The cop STARTED with an Attitude, and it escalated into a yelling match. Eventually, the cop gave up and let us be.

However, to think of how much of a financial hurt this state is in-(and the state deserves it for allowing such STUPID politicians to stay here!!!)-and how a law like this could bring them in some money REAL quick...well, it just makes me F_CKING SICK.

 

[Daffy Duck Viper]

Just thinking about a law like this makes me absolutely sick. I am SO tempted to put a type of recording system in my car it is not even funny. It DOES come down a to an abuse of power, no matter how you look at it. If you think otherwise, you arent thinking clearly.

That's major $%*#^&. I've thought the same thing, and I probably will do that, because I don't trust them any further than you know what.

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[malcoll]

I guess I've just been lucky..... about seven months ago (the day of my Mother's funeral service) an associate of my stupid cousin planted two marijuana plants in our Grandmother's back yard.
After the service my Grandmother went home and called me about 1/2 hour later... and told me the police were there.
A detective got on the phone and told me not to worry it was obvious the two plants were put there just before he arrived... and that all was OK.
It appears that a "good cop" was in charge of this incident?

I am always against the government having more control... but I just think these people who truly "street race" need to be shut down somehow.... it is just so obvious these "street racers" (and I mean REAL street RACING)have NO concern for others.

LDM

 

[NCVCA]

We all know what street racing is and if your street racing tuff $hit. Lose your house, car, wife for all I care. It's STUPID.

malcoll - amen brother.

You may have the money for a Viper but it doesn't mean you have the maturity to own one.

You own a Viper and street race your **** in my eyes. Hope you lose control and total it in a one car accident. Hope you LIVE and suffer for being so dumb but finally realize what you did and prevent others from doing the same.

Brutal? yeah. So is being killed by a street racer.

 

[1TONY1]

We all know what street racing is and if your street racing tuff $hit. Lose your house, car, wife for all I care. It's STUPID.

malcoll - amen brother.

You may have the money for a Viper but it doesn't mean you have the maturity to own one.

You own a Viper and street race your **** in my eyes. Hope you lose control and total it in a one car accident. Hope you LIVE and suffer for being so dumb but finally realize what you did and prevent others from doing the same.

Brutal? yeah. So is being killed by a street racer.

hmmmm, I am guessing you don't want to register on this site: http://www.streetracingforum.com/

 

[NCVCA]

1TONY1 would seem silly to associate yourself that way. Might as well sign up for the www.cocainesmugglersforum.com and www.childmolestersforum.com.

streetracingforum.com thinks that this disclaimer will protect them...

"DISCLAIMER: Street Racing Forums.com DOES NOT promote, endorse, or encourage any sort of illegal activity including street racing. This forum is meant to hold discussion of your local street car scene, drag racing scene, etc. SRF.com is not to be held liable for any activity discussed among it's members, as this is a free/public place for anyone to chat."

Guess whose also going to be named in the lawsuit when a street race that was mentioned on the board leads to personal injury or property damage?

I guess some people just don't think or just don't care that their thrill could kill someone.

I'm kindof burnt out on this topic. Hope everyone stays safe on the roads.

 

[Big Medicine]

We all know what street racing is and if your street racing tuff $hit. Lose your house, car, wife for all I care. It's STUPID.

malcoll - amen brother.

You may have the money for a Viper but it doesn't mean you have the maturity to own one.

You own a Viper and street race your **** in my eyes. Hope you lose control and total it in a one car accident. Hope you LIVE and suffer for being so dumb but finally realize what you did and prevent others from doing the same.

Brutal? yeah. So is being killed by a street racer.

I hope you get pulled over for speeding in that state, & you happen to be in a school zone you didn't notice. I hope it's 6:30 PM & the zone is effective from 7A-7P, and you only thought you were going 7 mph over the limit, but found out you're being cited for 27 over the limit. I hope they say you were racing & take your car. I hope you spend ten grand fruitlessly trying to get your car back, only to be run over by a concrete truck outside the courthouse.

There's really no call to be mean, but since you thought it was cool....

Why don't YOU tell us what street racing is? Perhaps during your attempt to put it into legal ramblings on a piece of paper you'll understand the difficulty of enforcement & the propensity for abuse by subjective interpretation. It's rather hard to define in black & white.

You act like someone is PROMOTING street racing when all they are doing is POINTING OUT & DEBATING the obvious potential for abuse of the law by uneducated, rural KIDS who have been given a badge & a gun by the local "town".

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE is it ok for the government to confiscate property; with the exception of capital offenses, CONSTITUTIONAL law provides three options for criminal liability:

1. FINE
2. IMPRISONMENT
3. BOTH

That's enough to deter anyone if properly enforced. Point is, it's not properly enforced in all cases; however, it may be if there is an "incentive" for the chief to "encourage" rigorous enforcement by his underlings. Maybe he's short on his budget. After all, how are YOU going to prove it? Which you'll have to. Not them.

 

[WESTCOAST JASON]

Exactly, this thread was not started to discuss Street Racing per'se. There is no way to properly define it. Two Mom's getting on an on-ramp trying to be first to the top in their mini van are TECHNICALLY street racing.

We all should already know when, and when-not to, drive our Vipers like they are Vipers....

The thread is about the legality of them (police) taking the car for good. And what actually happens if that car was financed???

 

[1TONY1]

SILLY ME

I hear that ******* smuggling is profitable, hmmmm maybe a money maker for the airplane. Thanks

 

[Gerald]

1TONY1 would seem silly to associate yourself that way. Might as well sign up for the www.cocainesmugglersforum.com and www.childmolestersforum.com.

streetracingforum.com thinks that this disclaimer will protect them...

"DISCLAIMER: Street Racing Forums.com DOES NOT promote, endorse, or encourage any sort of illegal activity including street racing. This forum is meant to hold discussion of your local street car scene, drag racing scene, etc. SRF.com is not to be held liable for any activity discussed among it's members, as this is a free/public place for anyone to chat."

Guess whose also going to be named in the lawsuit when a street race that was mentioned on the board leads to personal injury or property damage?

I guess some people just don't think or just don't care that their thrill could kill someone.

I'm kindof burnt out on this topic. Hope everyone stays safe on the roads.

Get a f'ing life man. Think before you post. This ranks up there with one of the most lamest posts I've ever read on this board. That's like saying I hope your mama chokes on a chicken bone and you're there to watch it and suffer as she's turning blue.. How f'ked up is that?

 

[RedGTS]

Tony, I'll make you a great deal on an annual retainer if the smuggling thing works out.

 

[Hans Christian]

"If car financed" = "not taking the car"; then wouldn't this equal "if car registered to the wife" and husband gets pulled over for "street racing" then they won't take the car either ????

 

[RedGTS]

I can tell you that in drug cases the cops don't worry about who's name is on the registration, or whether there's a lien on the title. They impound the car and then it's up to the various owners, lienholders, or other claimants to try to get it released through the courts or administrative process. Which is usually time-consuming and expensive. I defend a lot of civil cases that many people might consider frivolous, but none of them causes me the philosophical revulsion that forfeiture laws do from the standpoint of being an abuse of someone's rights or an abuse of the judicial system. I think the courts have screwed up bigtime by allowing a lot of this crap, and I consider myself a conservative law and order kind of guy. Most of the forfeiture statutes were enacted to combat organized crime and big-time drug dealers, but unfortunately there are always people out there wanting to push the edge of the envelope to make a name for themself, fulfill a powertrip, make money for their department, etc. So the next thing you know the corner video store or Joe Blow have all their assets seized for selling pirated tapes or having a joint in the ashtray. Fortunately I rarely have any involvement with forfeiture cases.

 

[NCVCA]

Big Medicine

From your post it sounds like we agree that people who are racing on the street (with intent - really racing) is unsafe and therefore "stupid" (my word). I didn't comment on the legalities of confiscation. Nor do I drive my viper on the street (because it's not street legal or registered). If my comments were directed at someone who gets caught in a BS technicality my post would have been out of line. No ill wishes against the person who gets speed trapped in a school zone or is the victim of an over zealous cop.

If you keep it in the context that it's written (applying to those that are really racing each other on the street) and not the other instances that I don't think any of us consider "street racing" then I don't think your reply is fair. My comments do not apply to the examples you mentioned - that would be lame. They apply to idoit 1 and egomaniac B going stoplight to stoplight racing which involves intent. It seems that the same people making these bad decisions are also some of the worst drivers (not even taking the additional speed into account).

I hope this clarifies my earlier post which was obviously lacking in detail.

Gerald

In my opinion they are only comparable if the mom in your example is intentionally putting others at risk of being seriously injured or killed. As I stated above, my comments are directed at those intentionally breaking the law, endangering bystanders and fellow motorists by exceeding the speed limit and or driving in a way that an average (and the average is pretty low) driver could be reasonably expected to anticipate and react to avoid an accident.

I think it's "unwise" to drive any car on a public street like your on the track - the conditions are infinately different. I think people who choose to do so anyway should be punished because it makes me "mad" that they feel they have a right to potentially injure or kill someone. Because they make me "mad" I don't like them and hope [whether rational or not] that they suffer for their decision to do so before they hurt someone else. I chose to illustrate this point with colorful examples that apparently derailed the point I was trying to make.

I'm not old, I'm not a geeser, I'm not a leftist liberal or a law dog. I'm actually politically conservative and think we have too many laws on too many issues already.

I just have a real problem with these people and am willing to get kicked around a little on a forum in hopes that some of those reading the thread will think twice next time the opportunity to see whose faster in someone's neighborhood comes along or isn't afraid to say something when idoit 2 starts bragging about going 120 on main street.

 

[GR8_ASP]

NCVA, I think you are still missing the point. The point is that racing should be a civil infraction resulting in fine and/or jail time. Raising it to a felony in cases where no harm was done is too much. In retrospect what would you consider drunk driving - a capital crime? Felony? First offense, 0.01 over the limit, etc.

But that is still not the point. The point is that forfeiture is a poor way of providing justice and can and will be abused. Forfeiture also changes the judicial system from innocent until proven guilty to guilty until proven innocent. Our judicial system is founded on the innocent until proven guilty principle. The latter (guilty until proven innocent) leads toward a police state and removes a degree of freedom our country is founded on.

 

[HP]

To lump your average Viper owner with the Saturday night street racers that
scream through your neighborhood on the latest 600cc, running thru the
gears without the front end ever touching the ground- is a misrepresentation. Just the fact that you
own a Viper 'probably' means your conscience of the responsibility of staying
alive, keeping your insurance, and keeping your car out of the body shop.
I think it would be hard for most of us just to drive our Viper, and not
feel a little guilty of street racing - or otherwise - what's the point -
buy a SUV. Most of the 'street racing' that is publicized here- is probably
safer than some of the local tracks.

 

[NCVCA]

Viper SRT

I must agree. We (as a country) need to have limits as to what Government can and cannot do. When stating "lose your car etc. etc." I was not appropriately commenting on the MAIN theme of this thread which is the Governments ability to take (read steal) private property.

So, for the record. I wish the street racers the worst and hope they stop, but that is no justification for Governments trespass upon rights given within the Constitution regarding ownership of private property.

Point taken. I stand (humbly) corrected.

 

[TFAST4U]

My .02 on the Law.

Who ever lives in San Diego needs to understand that this is not about street racing. It is about pushing the LAW to far!!!!!!!

Here is the point.

You pay 40% in taxes, plus local sales tax of say....7%. Your the good old worker bee, going home from work on a friday and you are at a light. Next to you is another car, thay look at you and you know what's up. It's been a long week, we all have been there befor. The light turns green and you hit it.......only to find out the person in the other lane is an under cover cop. Entrapment. Oh...that word again. And now Mr. or Miss tax payer, you get to deal with "Forfeiture Ordinance VC 23109". AND YOUR PAYING YOUR LOCAL Government to do this to you.

I thought 500 years ago we came to this new found land to get away from sh*t like this. Looks like we are losing sight of what our Four Fathers had in mind.

Look up the definition of "Drag Racing". You will be amazed....really amazed that you Drag Race more often than you think by definition of you Local Government .

Hell..........in CA, you are not allowed to smoke in a restaurant.

* If any one flames me on this you are either working for the Government, or you need to be. Good luck San Diego.

I'm done on this post.

 

[Sonny 00 GTS ACR]

We drive high profile cars and usually get more attention than we deserve (both good and bad).

In my opinion, the majority of owners like to "exercise" their cars from time to time in what most of us would probably consider to be "safe" circumstances. The minority on the other hand try to make a career or sport out of "street racing" by posting "kills", videos and telling anyone who will listen how great they are.

I personally blame the second group for the proliferation of punitive laws being enacted that limit freedom, raise insurance rates and cause most the undue scrutiny and possible financial losses that this post has mentioned.

As I've said before: Take it to the track - It's more fun, it lasts longer, and no tickets!

 

[Big Medicine]

TOUCHE

Big Medicine

From your post it sounds like we agree that people who are racing on the street (with intent - really racing) is unsafe and therefore "stupid" (my word). I didn't comment on the legalities of confiscation. Nor do I drive my viper on the street (because it's not street legal or registered). If my comments were directed at someone who gets caught in a BS technicality my post would have been out of line. No ill wishes against the person who gets speed trapped in a school zone or is the victim of an over zealous cop.

If you keep it in the context that it's written (applying to those that are really racing each other on the street) and not the other instances that I don't think any of us consider "street racing" then I don't think your reply is fair. My comments do not apply to the examples you mentioned - that would be lame. They apply to idoit 1 and egomaniac B going stoplight to stoplight racing which involves intent. It seems that the same people making these bad decisions are also some of the worst drivers (not even taking the additional speed into account).

I hope this clarifies my earlier post which was obviously lacking in detail.

Gerald

In my opinion they are only comparable if the mom in your example is intentionally putting others at risk of being seriously injured or killed. As I stated above, my comments are directed at those intentionally breaking the law, endangering bystanders and fellow motorists by exceeding the speed limit and or driving in a way that an average (and the average is pretty low) driver could be reasonably expected to anticipate and react to avoid an accident.

I think it's "unwise" to drive any car on a public street like your on the track - the conditions are infinately different. I think people who choose to do so anyway should be punished because it makes me "mad" that they feel they have a right to potentially injure or kill someone. Because they make me "mad" I don't like them and hope [whether rational or not] that they suffer for their decision to do so before they hurt someone else. I chose to illustrate this point with colorful examples that apparently derailed the point I was trying to make.

I'm not old, I'm not a geeser, I'm not a leftist liberal or a law dog. I'm actually politically conservative and think we have too many laws on too many issues already.

I just have a real problem with these people and am willing to get kicked around a little on a forum in hopes that some of those reading the thread will think twice next time the opportunity to see whose faster in someone's neighborhood comes along or isn't afraid to say something when idoit 2 starts bragging about going 120 on main street.

 

[Viperzilla]

I haven't read this whole entire post, though I have read about 3/4 of it. IMO, the definition of street racing is very vague. Say you are driving in your Viper (hypothetically), and next to you is a Geo Metro. You ease onto the gas like normal driving conditions in your car, but the Metro mashes the throttle and tails you by a small amount. Police, in need of glasses and a definition, can see this as street racing. This can be considered similar to Final GTSs story.
Again, hypothetically, say you are in your Viper, and next to you is a Ferrari 360, you both start away from the stop line under normal driving conditions. You may reach 0-60 in, say, 6-7 seconds. Your rate of acceleration may leave all the other Saturns, GMs, etc. in your dust. Police, in need of glasses and street racing definition, may see this as street racing.
Although in both incidents, no other set and defined law (excessive display of horsepower [example- tire spin/squeal] or broken speed limits) was broken. The law system is completely against you in these cases. You may not have many options, even though you are completely innocent. You conducted your bahavior in a safe and controlled manner, but somehow, the cops didn't see it this way.

I have driven one Viper twice before. On one occasion I have mentioned before, I took off from the red light stop hard with a split second of tire squeal. I released the gas at 5 MPH below the speed limit. If there had been an officer near me, he could have cited me for excessive display of horsepower, possibly would have tacked me for speeding (which I didn't do), and said I was street racing because the dumbasss teens behind me in their SUV passed me at 90+ (35+ MPH over the speed limit). Now some here may say I did break one law, but I'm willing to bet that all of you owning, or driven, a Viper, and some of you who haven't driven one, have sqealed the tires longer than I have in this one incident. I squeal the tires in my mom's Saturn because I'm making a turn and during the turn shift into second, and press the gas at normal pressure. Because the tires are crap, was I making a gross display of HP in those cases?

Basically, the PDs need to establish what street racing is, and make their officers know what the exact definition is. They also should let area citizens know what the consequences are.

 

[brianflynn]

Hey here's a unique thought.... don't race illegally and you won't lose your car?

I'm all for freedom and the "pursuit of happiness".... but street racing is just STUPID... and endangers MY pursuit of living to be 80 years old!!

It ****** me off when I see these idiots screaming away from a stoplight....... or doing 120 mph down a city street!!

It's just plain rude. If you want to race go to a racetrack.... where it's somewhat controlled... don't do it on the street where teenagers and grandma's are trying to get to school and the grocery store!

Nothing wrong with banging a couple of gears or taking off a bit fast, doing 80 on a city street is asking for trouble.

Look at it this way you take off faster than normal and some guy two lanes over does the same thing and you don't notice him. YOUR racing in the eyes of the law.

The punishment should fit the crime, It should not exceed it.

People will be complaining about it when their kid gets busted for taking off fast and they have to pay for a car they don't have anymore. Or it's a single moms car and she let her kid use it he gets busted for racing, She loses her job because she can't get to work, It's a messed up law.

 

[Motor City Mad Man]

Personally I am against "street" racing. By this I mean racing on city streets where you might have pedestrians and side streets where someone could pull out in front of you and not expect someone to be doing 120 mph down a 25 mph street. I however see nothing wrong with "highway" racing as long as you do it with no cars near you and don't act stupid. I have highway raced several times, but I have never "street" raced as I think this is stupid and is the cause of most of the fatal "street" racing accidents out there.

Just this weekend I am on a city street and about 10 teenagers on crotch rockets see me in my Viper and want to race. For one thing I am on a city street, for another thing these guys were just chomping at the bit to race me and coupled with their youth I'm sure one of them would have done something really stupid to impress his buddies and got himself hurt. Plus their girlfriends were behind them in ricer cars and I bet the guys would have really done something stupid to try and impress them. They were also doing stoppies and screeched to a halt only 2 feet from the cars in front of them. They were all revving their engines at me. I revved back a few times so they could hear the awesome beast, but I passed on them and went my merry way. It would have just been asking for trouble.

Even though I see nothing wrong with me racing on the highway once in a blue moon, I can see why they have such harsh laws given that street racing has gotten so out of control in some areas and most people in this country are just too stupid to act responsibly. I don't think you should lose your car though. There are plenty of drivers out there that don't street race but are more of a danger to others than street racers are. You know the kind that drive like they have their proverbial head up their asp. They are the ones who should have their cars taken away.