California tax money @ work v. ricers...

NYSpeed Automotive NYSpeed Off Topic
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Probably a repost (I couldn’t find it), but here ya go:

California: Police Raid Car Enthusiast Gathering, Generate Revenue
Police raid Riverside, California parking lot to issue modified car tickets at local car enthusiast gathering.

Using $503,000 in federal and state gas tax revenue to pay for overtime, nine police agencies in Riverside, California sent more than one hundred police officers to surround a gathering of automotive enthusiasts. Owners of imported sport compact cars had gathered at the Canyon Crossing shopping center on Friday night to swap stories, talk about their passion for cars and show off the latest enhancements to their rides. At around 11pm police surprised participants by blocking all exits with fifty police cruisers. Officers then began a warrantless search and interrogation operation of the 150 vehicles that were present.

“If you’re not into street racing, why would you need that?” Riverside Police Traffic Sergeant Skip Showalter asked an enthusiast during a similar crackdown last year. “Why would you want more power going to your car?”

Police issued a total of forty-eight tickets for “engine modifications” with police accusing the owners of the parked vehicles of being street racers. Another fifty tickets were issued for paperwork violations, dark window tinting and lack of a front license plate. The most revenue, however, will be generated from the fees imposed on twenty vehicles that were confiscated. Despite labeling the parking lot raid as taking place at a “street racing venue,” Riverside Police offered no evidence that any street racing actually took place.

Across the state, gas tax funds are regularly used to fund similar crackdowns that generate big revenue. In 2004, the California Highway Patrol issued a total of 101,553 “modified car” citations worth $10.5 million according to CHP data obtained by TheNewspaper.

Other law enforcement agencies participating in Friday night’s raid included the California Highway Patrol, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, and police from Baldwin Park, Fontana, Irwindale, Moreno Valley, Ontario and Mount San Jacinto Community College

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And from a local paper in Riverside, Ca:

http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_R_streetrace01.4234d9b.html

10:57 AM PDT on Tuesday, April 1, 2008

By JESSICA LOGAN
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside police may have put a dent in local street racing Friday when about 100 officers raided a parking lot on Valley Springs Parkway, where suspected racers are known to congregate.

Police from Riverside and other agencies shut off the exits to the lot to inspect more than 150 vehicles. Officers wrote a similar number of citations, including 48 for illegal modifications common to street racing, according to a police news release.

Twenty vehicles were towed from the scene as part of a crackdown funded by a $503,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, according to a police news release.

Police spokesman Steven Frasher said officers had been monitoring illegal activity in the lot for weeks. The large number of people who received tickets for illegal modifications common to street racing confirmed officers’ suspicions that the lot was a hotbed of street racing activity, he said.

“Almost every vehicle that was there, even if they weren’t street racing, they were … an audience,” Frasher said, adding that the lot was full of skid marks left behind by racers.

Neighboring business managers at Hooters Restaurant and John’s Incredible Pizza are glad the problem was addressed. At times, they said, cars speed through their parking lots, threatening the safety of others and scaring away customers.

“They seek a big parking lot and ours is huge,” said Jim Finigan, director of operations at John’s Incredible Pizza.

He was seconded by Chris Guillet, manager of the Riverside Hooters Restaurant, who said problem drivers speed through his lot, barely avoiding collisions. While he was grateful for the police intervention, “I think it just moves the problem to another area,” Guillet said.

Police organized a similar raid in 2006 at the Target store on Tyler Street. They believe street racing has killed at least two people in Riverside in recent years, including Reyna De Leon, 38, in 2006, and 14-year-old Carlos Cisneros in 2007.

“By its nature, (the street racing problem) can get up and go someplace else,” Frasher said. He added, however, the problem may at least be solved at the Valley Springs Parkway location. “We were able to send a strong message that … we are cracking down on this activity and we won’t tolerate it,” Frasher said.

He added that police will continue the fight against street racing, but he declined to give details.

On Friday, cars ranging from broken-down Hondas to shiny, new Ford Mustangs and BMWs lined up for the police inspection. Some car owners were ticketed for replacing a small exhaust pipe with a larger one that makes the car run louder.

John Ferrier got a “fix-it ticket,” he said, because his car’s exhaust system was too noisy. And yet the 21-year-old Moreno Valley resident said he was happy the police were cracking down on Honda drivers. He blames them for reckless maneuvers such as “burning out” and “doing doughnuts.”

“That’s what attracted the police attention,” Ferrier said. “I’m glad they’re here to stop people before they do something stupid.”

Michael Calderon, 22, of San Bernardino, stood in the parking lot as his 1995 Honda Civic hatchback, which he bought for $600, was loaded onto a tow truck.

Police impounded his car because officers believed some of its parts were stolen.

Calderon said he bought the parts from a reputable business.

“It’s devastating,” said Calderon, who spent $20,000 on car improvements. “That’s my soul right there. This is the worst night of my life.”

And it wasn’t over yet. He still needed someone to pick him up – but first he had to find a friend whose car passed inspection.

Reach Jessica Logan at 951-368-9466 at jlogan@PE.com

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If these kids were innocent I’d blame the cops but we all know they’re not. I used to do burn-outs and street race too, no ones fault but our own. The cops aren’t stupid.

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It’s interesting to see how both sides spin the story.

You can really hear the bias loud and clear in both.

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i like that they ask why the kids would want their cars to have more power, when theres plenty of production cars out on the market that are over 400hp, does that mean those ppl street race too?

edit: maybe this is why i havent gotten my state tax refund yet, that was filed like a month ago.

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only if the owners are trying to get 450 hp out of it.

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:tup: I’d hassle them for just being fucking loiters. lol

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if they were retarded enough to be doing burnouts in the parking lot where they hang out and race on the street in front of the parking lot then they deserve it. But if they were somewhat smart about what they do, aka sg and bubble tea meets then thats fuckin gay, just let them hang out and talk if they’re not bothering anyone.

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what do they expect, racing in the parking lot lol thats bright!

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:tup:

The fact is CA has laws that do not allow much for mods on a street car. While I agree those laws are stupid, just like tint laws and front plate laws in NY, it doesn’t mean you can just break them and expect no consequences. If you don’t like CA’s anti-mod laws move, or get organized and get them repealed. What you can’t do is just mod them anyway and bitch when the cops pick the low hanging fruit when you and a couple hundred of your buddies all park in one place to hang out.

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So can you not mod an engine and throw in a turbo without looking for a ticket in NY or just CA?

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“If you’re not into street racing, why would you need that?” Riverside Police Traffic Sergeant Skip Showalter asked an enthusiast during a similar crackdown last year. “Why would you want more power going to your car?”

Is RETARDED
So you can’t have a summer car that you like to take to the track?
Thumbs up to that cop, Infact He should have to come to my house and change engines for me everytime I want to take my car to the drag strip.
Some people need to be shot on sight.

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It’s illegal in NY only if you’re retarded. So I regret to inform you that you’ll have to leave your POS stock. The good news is this should save you enough money to buy a phone.

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cali is ridiculous tho… i’ve read about people getting ref tickets for larger diameter spark plug wires :bloated:

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wow…that sucks…

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if cali is doing it you know ny is next in fucking line. another law that will drive people out of the state.

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:bigclap:

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For everyone who said :tup: to this…

lets say, we have a giant meet at Taffys. Taffy’s enjoys our company and welcome all sorts of car gatherings.
Now lets say Orchard park police show up, and write 90% of the cars there for: no front plate,illegal tint, illegal exhaust, lowered car (bumper laws, you cannot lower your car past a certain hight)
How would you feel then?
I’d be pretty pissed. It’s different if they were street racing, but no. they were just sitting there and talking, like we all do.

It’s like going to an all black college and arresting everyone because they MAY be in a gang or will be in the future.

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The stupidy of this statement is almost unbelievable. :bloated:

No front plate, illegal tint, illegal exhaust are all ILLEGAL. Unless the parking lot is closed to public access NYS traffic laws apply. Maybe if you trailered your car there and it was still on the trailer when the cops showed up you’d have something to complain about.

But yeah, ticketing people for these ILLEGAL modifications is the same as arresting innocent people because they might one day do something illegal. And nice borderline racist statement there at the end. Go fucking end yourself, please.

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:blah:

but, there are thousands of illegal aliens jumping over the border…but those police would rather go after teh EASY money/tickets/arrests…you know, because cat back exhausts and intakes are SOOO bad.