Quote:
Originally Posted by MerF
The same thing happened to the old spot I used to run at back in '05-ish. Luckily I had moved from the area in '04, but I'm not gonna lie that I'd ran my Supra there once or twice. Not my proudest moment but it was the interstate heading away from the base in Norfolk and it was always barren at 1 AM when we'd run.
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I remember the 564 bust. It was early '06. I didn't race there, but I went to the Kroeger where everyone hung out the weekend before it happened. It was my first and last time(not because of the bust) going there. I saw what was going on with the racing and knew that it was going to get busted. The day after I went somebody posted about the VDOT camera spinning around and showing all the cars in the Kroeger parking lot. The cops were in the bushes on the side of the road for three weeks with video cameras and radar guns. They were clocking cars doing in excess of 150mph. When the bust went down they came up all the lanes head on at the people who were racing in a rolling roadblock. From what I recall there were four cars racing with another five out there spectating. All of them were impounded. At the same time they blocked all exits to the Kroeger parking lot, and basically set up an impromptu tech inspection station at one exit that everybody had to go through. The news reports said that over 200 tickets were issued that night for various equipment, inspection, and registration violations. The unfortunate thing, is that the nearest track is about an hour away.
You can't ever stop street racing. As long as there are still cars there will always be people who want to see who is faster. It could be curbed, however, with the addition of more tracks, or at least a sanctioned, closed-off public road that is monitored by the police, with each driver signing a waver, just like a test and tune night at the local drag strip. In the Hollywood Hills the police close roads all the time to film car chases/shows, etc. If a safe, conrtrolled enviornment is provided, then illegal street racing will see a decline. With the zoning restrictions and noise complaints, there really is nothing that can be done other than petitioning the residents in the area and the city for allowance. It's highly unlikely that it will get anywhere, but it's worth a shot. It will also take awareness by both law enforcement agencies and car enthusiasts alike as far as what the local laws are concerning aftermarket modifications. Certain laws(such as exhaust) are writtin so ambiguously that patrolmen have discretion as to what is legal and what is not. If the law won't be rewritten, then police departments should at least establish a standard as to what would warrant the writing of a ticket, and make drivers aware. That way officers can't be giving tickets just because he feels like being a douchebag. Of course all these ideas would work in a perfect world, but the world certainly isn't perfect. It's just a suggestion along with my two cents.