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Street racing is running rampant on Toronto's COVID-19-emptied highways
Police stopped 18 street racers over the weekend and took their cars and licences
by ALEX REID | 22 HOURS AGO
With COVID-19 keeping everybody inside, some people were bound to go so stir-crazy they would do something stupid. And now, they have — street racing on Toronto’s empty highways, apparently.
Some 18, uh, “enthusiasts” lost their driving privileges and had their vehicles impounded for seven days over the weekend when they were caught street racing on the provincial capital’s desolate streets, according to Narcity.
Another group of opportunist individuals were caught traveling at speeds up to 171 kilometres per hour.
TPS Traffic Services
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@TrafficServices
We’re busy with #TrafficEnforcement around the clock and across #Toronto. @TorontoPolice wants you to know that it’s dangerous, illegal and we won’t accept that behavior on our roads. This weekend 18 drivers lost their driving privileges & their vehicles for 7 days. #visionzero
We’ve charged 18 drivers with stunt related offences this weekend alone. That’s 18 Suspended drivers and 18 impounded motor vehicles”
People manage to have huge NASCAR-style wrecks on the Don Valley Parkway while moving at a snail’s pace, so it’s incredible the drivers were able to keep their cars on the road and in one piece at a clip like that, even with traffic was absent.
While it’s easy to look at this situation and think the impetus for racing is the streets being empty, it’s important to look at the bigger picture here. There has always been racing on the streets of Toronto, but the police have always had more important problems to deal with. Now, with fewer people around to commit crimes, the street-racing crowd that continues to race up and down the DVP is a lot easier to catch.
The lesson remains the same, though: don’t street race, or you’ll get your vehicle taken away, or lose your licence, or both.
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