Your Ontario tax dollars hard at work... renting heavy equipment to crush civics

[dentrecords]

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...d=968332188492



MARKHAM — The Ontario government crushed two tricked-out Hondas into a heap of scrap metal Thursday as part of an effort by Attorney General Michael Bryant to discourage ``motorheads" from racing on public streets.

The spectacle, performed in front of a horde of television cameras in this sprawling suburb just north of Toronto, came on the same day the federal government introduced new legislation to criminalize the increasingly popular activity.

"We are taking away these hot wheels from the people who use them forever," Bryant said as he presided over the theatrics, which featured a massive front-end loader crushing the cars on the driveway of a Markham paving company.

And Thursday's exhibition was just the start, Bryant said.

"We're not just going to take your keys away for a few weeks," he said. "We are going to take your precious vehicles from you."

Used in races in 2003 and 2004, the province took possession of the cars under the Civil Remedies Act, a law passed last December which allows police to seize property used in illegal activities.

The pair are the first street racing cars to be destroyed under that law, but Bryant said he expects more will meet the same fate.

The modified vehicles had been gutted — including the removal of the back seats and interior panels — to make them run faster.

One, a 1995 blue Honda Civic, was taken after an officer caught a 23-year-old man racing at a over 180 km/hr on a Markham street. The vehicle, outfitted with a TV screen and video game console on the dashboard, was registered to the racer's mother.

Street racing has killed 34 people in the Greater Toronto Area since 1999, including a couple who stumbled upon a race on Toronto's central Yonge St. when returning from their 17th wedding anniversary celebration.

Police said officers are reporting a rise in the number of races. Scarier still, the practice has moved from little-used back roads onto busy highways, said Sgt. David Mitchell, an internationally recognized leader in drag racing policing.

"Society has become more 24-hour-oriented," Mitchell said. ``There's always someone out on that roadway."

[06NighthawkSi]

The first thing that came into my head was the South Park song BLAME CANADA That is really disturbing!!! Street racing is bad but come on thats wrong. It wasn't the cars it was the drivers.

[Zesti1]

Ridiculous

[bluetroll]

i just read this article this morning... it makes me sick... this really gets me going too... it's only because at this particular moment, the topic of street racing is fresh in our minds, otherwise the media would let it slip.

The most aggrevating thing is that there are many more important issues that should be worried about before this. Don't get me wrong, street racing is wrong, however look at the information provided in this article "30 ppl died since '99", compare that to the 50 something ppl that died because of gun violence last year alone!!! The gov't and police have bigger fish to fry. They should be more worried about how every weekend someone gets shot in the city, it's not even weekend anymore, it's every week.

The new anti-street racing bill which the MP wants to implement is also complete BS. It's pretty much giving the police power like "judge dredd". It's all about what the officer thinks. So IF they think you've been racing, you're car gets impounded instantly and licence suspended. What exactly constitutes a race vs. speeding? if a officer sees 2 cars on the highway in a hurry to get somewhere and they're speeding, they could automatically be considered as street racing. Good thing this bill will not pass, because there's no way it would hold any ground in court. But i DO agree that traffic laws do need to be upgraded with the times.

Onto my last point, i can't stand the fact that once you modify a car you are considered a street racer. i know SOME do, but SOME don't. Some ppl take their cars to the race track, and keep it safe on the public roads. These hobbist are far from being street racers. Since we don't have money coming out of our asses we can only afford one car. AND, in some cases, modding a cars suspension, brakes is actually safer than what the manufacturer put on their cars!

Modifying a car shouldn't be a crime, but street racing should.

ok, enough ranting!

[Zesti1]

^ Very good points. I agree 100%.

It's all just a big show to make it look like they are doing something about it.

Now they need to nail some people with the new law to make an example case pretty much....

[bluetroll]

the only reason this topic is so hot right now too, is because of Fast and the Furious... i mean, if you HAVE a brain, you'd realize that this is Hollywood. They glorify EVERYTHING. ugh. I mean, when I was younger, I was really loved the first F&F movie... I still do like that movie... but it didn't make me want to go out and race everyone. I mean, I was lucky I had a car, but nothing remotely fast. It was a complete junker, which is good because it kept me from doing stupid things.

Young kids that street race, should have part of the blame to the parents. THEY buy them these nice cars. What do you expect a kid with a new car and a nice paying part-time job to do? They don't have any expenses, so it goes all to their car. They don't even pay for their own insurance, so why do they care if they get busted for racing or not?

[Zesti1]

Originally Posted by bluetroll

Young kids that street race, should have part of the blame to the parents. THEY buy them these nice cars. What do you expect a kid with a new car and a nice paying part-time job to do? They don't have any expenses, so it goes all to their car. They don't even pay for their own insurance, so why do they care if they get busted for racing or not?

I said this exact thing to my co-workers when we were talking about this yestarday. What you said is so true though!

[bluetroll]

haha.. u know what?... bright minds think alike.

[dentrecords]

I saw some interesting comments on fark regarding this article. I pay about 30% income tax, and 15% tax on nearly all purchases I make.. that's a lot of money going to taxes.. here we have a "legitimate" case for confiscating these idiots' vehicles and what does the government do? Instead of stripping the cars for parts and selling it to help recuperate the costs of prosecuting these idiots for doing 180km/h on public roads, they spend even more money renting heavy equipment to crush their newly acquired property and stage a publicity stunt. I don't know about you, but I would far rather see them recuperate a few thousand dollars from these cars and put it to good use rather than waste it. Of course there are going to be some parts that aren't desgined for anything than making the car faster like a turbo or SC, and should probably be scrapped rather than resold. Not that it would really do anything to make the road safer as anyone with a few thousand dollars can get a turbo or SC on their car...

[Team Midnight]

Originally Posted by Zesti1

^ Very good points. I agree 100%.

It's all just a big show to make it look like they are doing something about it.

Now they need to nail some people with the new law to make an example case pretty much....

I aslo agree. I have my car lightly modded and if they think they are going to crush my car lol try with me in it. In these so called laws there are also loops which ppl will find and i bet ppl will also be suing for sure or at least try.

i don't street race BTW i take it to the track that being said i think they should have a drag strip close to downtown toronto that way we don't have to race light to light cuz no one wants to drive 1.5hrs away in hickville (i went about 2 weeks ago so did Zest1 and i have a few rock chip on the hood from going up there).

and last be not least there have been 3 accidents and what where they hhmmmm MEDIA: "ALL 3 HAVE BEEN STREET RACES" fack offff that what i have to say haha. don't take my word but i heard somewhere say since 1999 deaths and accidents racing 30% use of cell phones 70% maybe the should use those to crush cell phones aswell

[MaKo]

And I thought we had the market cornered on stupid elected officials.

[shawn-o]

good job ontario.

Honestly- no pity on the owners of the cars. Theres a time and a place for streetracing. Not on city streets, thats forsure. Way out on the highway--giver'go as the only person that is really at risk is you and the other person.

I believe winnipeg will be following suit.

[Driving91LX]

Isn't that "cruel and unusual punishment"? Yea, seems like they could just put them up on eBay or donate them to science or something. If they are going to destroy them I'd rather see them go off a cliff and burst into flames.

[dentrecords]

Originally Posted by Driving91LX

Isn't that "cruel and unusual punishment"? Yea, seems like they could just put them up on eBay or donate them to science or something. If they are going to destroy them I'd rather see them go off a cliff and burst into flames.

LOL, donate them to science... we aren't talking about human tissue.. no organ transplants going on here

I could think of more entertaining ways to destroy a car than being crushed by a front end loader. Check this out:

http://www.ssiworld.com/watch/bmw.htm

[CivNick]

so who wants to go street race right now?

[bubbletop1961]

When I was in my early 20's I did ALOT of street racing. But looking back there was no where else to go. The local track was only open to the public 4-5 times during the summer. All of us street racers had these fast cars and no where to go with them. Alot of thanks goes out to our local track (Heartland Park Topeka). They have opened up to the street crowd. They are open every 1st and 3rd wendsday. 5:00 to 10:00. All the passes you can get in for $10.00. I use to do more street racing in a weekend than I have done in the last 5 years. When a community puts a good plan into action there can be good results.

[Zesti1]

Yeah Jorge I got a nice stone chip on my drivers side window on the way to Cayuga. So pissed about that one. Thought for sure it was going to crack my windshield, TG it didnt.

I have been saying for years that they should build a track @ Downsview Park. Lots of room and a pretty central location!!! Probably never going to happen though.

There was a petition floating around on ClubSi about the track in TO, but like I said..........I highly doubt we will see one built in our life times!!!

[evolution921]

A while ago I saw a Ferrari F430 and a Porsche 911 racing down 401 at some crazy speed, 180+ km/h for sure. I would love to see if the police will treat them the same way they treat those Civics.

[bluetroll]

Originally Posted by evolution921

A while ago I saw a Ferrari F430 and a Porsche 911 racing down 401 at some crazy speed, 180+ km/h for sure. I would love to see if the police will treat them the same way they treat those Civics.

exactly my point!

[dentrecords]

Originally Posted by evolution921

A while ago I saw a Ferrari F430 and a Porsche 911 racing down 401 at some crazy speed, 180+ km/h for sure. I would love to see if the police will treat them the same way they treat those Civics.

I think a better question would be - would they even try to catch them? I think a Ferrari or Porsche could probably outrun a cop car anyday. If a cop sees a Civic speeding down the roa