So who would I call to get more actual details on this? We are coming back to Canada to visit in the next few weeks, and I will be damned if I am going to have my car seized just because it has exhaust, is lowered, and has racing seats. I want specifics.
I started looking at the actual statistics of "street racing" from government sources ... here is what I found ...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=1744650
Wow...I wish that something like that post would make the news. It would be interesting to see the response.
Went for a drive in a friends Shelby Cobra yesterday - he went around 160 downthe country road. Then came home and got out the NSX and took him for a ride.......same road and I took it up to 200. Sure it was an 80 kph area (which I know well), but as said earlier - if you can't pay the fine, don't do the crime. If caught I was able to accept all that was thrown at me, otherwise wouldn't have done it. The 10-20 seconds of adrenalin rush was great, then it was back down to the "normal" 95-100. I had my fun, now back to Mosport for some real speed.:biggrin:
Has anyone heard anymore about this? After reading this we have moved back our next visit until we get clarification on this topic since both Lesley and I drive modified cars. The last thing I want is for some overzealous OPP to look at the S2000 or NSX and say, 'Well...looks like racing parts to me,' and have them try to take my car or parts.
Cops love it when Im at a light next to them. We talk through our windows often.
I don't know bout' your neck of the woods, but round' here... don't count on it!
A few years ago, we busted a "drag night" in Ontario CALIFORNIA, blocked off both ends of the street, cited about 150 vehicles, towed about 20 for racing, and towed another 30 or so for not being street legal. One of those that was arrestred for racing was a 50+ guy and his 16yo son. We talked to the guy for a while, and he noted that he came out here a couple times a month from LA, and that he was also semi-pro driver. On top of that, the guy was also a cop in LA! Him and his son were both arrested, and they made a spectacle of them. The news followed them through the court sytem all the way through the car crushing...
Of the vehciles that were cited/impounded... Those that were not street legal, had to have them towed back to their properties from the tow yard (they could not drive them out of the tow yard), they're registration was pulled by the state, and they had to have it inspected by an official before they could re-register it. In some cases, to make it street legal and get it re-registered would cost more than the car was worth, so the kids end up tearing the vehicle apart, and reselling, or trying to build a new one.
LOL, wow this just brought up a bad memory.....I remember that bust, and I remember the same bust at the same place back in the day a few years prior. I remember distinctively, I was on my way (Running Late) and was called by a friend who said that they had the streets blocked off and low and behold, I was just getting ready to get off of the freeway when I saw a butt load of tow and flat bed vehicles, so I just kept going and took the long way back home. Again, this was back about 10 years ago at least when I was into the racing scene, now I have cars that are track use only! Being 35 years old now, I have learned from a select few of my friends who's cars were seized and released to their parents back in the day, now they are just crushing them.
Actually if I remember correctly, there was something on the news about this just a couple of weeks ago and they even showed a young kid and a few others watching while they crushed his civic...
I heard a rumor that was circulating when my dad was a under cover cop that they were on the look out for anything that looked like it was "race able" and it targeted civic's in the video...again this is only speculation since I didn't see it myself.
Stupidity, not speed, causing highway carnage
Ian Law
Jul 07, 2007
Everybody, it seems, is eager to speak out on our current street-racing woes.
However, I've heard very few comments that include an intelligent resolution.
We're all appalled at the senseless deaths occurring on our roads, but how many of us really understand the underlying problem?
Bringing back photo radar, crushing street racers' cars and throwing the book at speeders have been suggested.
The truth is, none of these approaches will have the desired effect, but they sound good politically. We need to treat the cause, not the symptom.
The problem on our roads and highways is not excessive speed, but excessive stupidity.
First, let's acknowledge the hypocrisy associated with this latest public outcry.
If we were to ask only motorists who have never exceeded the speed limit, never driven while on the cellphone or never engaged in a little fun competition on the road to speak their mind on this issue, we'd have a very quiet meeting.
Many politicians and police chiefs would be among the excluded, I'm sure.
The concept that has most people confused: "speed kills."
Humans obviously can travel at high velocities without dire consequences under the right conditions. However, these conditions don't always exist on our roads, and drivers sometimes hit things at a high rate of travel. Speed doesn't kill, collisions do.
The vast majority of motorists, including truckers, travel faster than the speed limit, but most won't die as a result.
Speeding is a relative term. Travelling at 115 km/h on our 400-series highways when conditions warrant it – in light traffic, on dry pavement, etc. – is not dangerous, because those roads are designed to handle traffic at those speeds.
However, travelling at 90 km/h on the 401 in a snowstorm is downright insane. Doing 100 km/h when everyone else is moving at 120 km/h is also dangerous.
Bottom line: driving fast doesn't kill, but driving stupid does.
Eight deaths on Ontario highways have been attributed to street racing this year. The total number of fatalities from Jan. 1 to July 2 is reported to be 225, up from 186 in that period last year. So 217 deaths were caused by something else.
Statistics show that driver distraction is a leading cause of fatal crashes. Maybe we need to take a serious look at banning cellphones, electronic gadgets and navigation screens from vehicles. Experts agree that talking on a cell makes a driver five times more likely to be involved in a crash.
Impairment is another major hazard. You'll find far more impaired drivers on the roads at night than "street racers."
Many more lives are lost through inattention and impairment than through "speeding" and street racing.
Street racing kills and must be stopped, but we also need to focus more attention on far more prevalent driver dysfunctions.
To reduce highway carnage, each of us needs to stay alert and responsible behind the wheel, be less aggressive and treat other road users with respect.
Bad drivers and bad decisions – they are the problem, not speed.