Maybe next time take it to the track?
Law enforcement in Merced, California has had it with the street racing infestation in their city. The police department did a sweep of city streets for violations, handing out citations and impounding vehicles to send a strong message. By putting a financial pinch on violators, the hope is they won’t race on city streets again.
Find out how the state government in California is putting the squeeze on automotive enthusiasts here.
In photos released by the Merced Police Department, several cars are seen loaded onto wreckers. There’s an orange Dodge Charger, black Corvette, black Mustang, and a white single-cab Silverado. We were hoping to see grandma’s Buick, but it’s actually a good thing that wasn’t involved.
The owners of the cars used in illegal street racing will be able to get them back after 30 days, but they’ll have to pay some hefty fines.
There are often two chief complaints cited by street racers for why they flout the law. The first is that going to a track is only for “rich” people. While track fees can be a little steep, paying fines for a ticket, increased insurance rates, and ponying up for the impound lot fees total up to more. That’s the point of police sticking these guys with financial consequences for their illegal activities.
The second thing often cited by street racers is that more and more tracks are closing. We understand the frustration of not having many tracks available in the area. However, if everyone just races on the streets instead of frequenting racetracks which are open, those motorsports facilities are losing out on potential income and eventually might be forced to close. So it’s a bit of a self-fulfilling phenomena to street race instead of keeping tracks in business, which might provide an incentive for some enterprising person to open a new track in your area.
Photos credit: Merced Police
Source: YourCentalValley.com
