Drag Racing Culture And Community

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Illegal street racing events on Ana Street in Compton in 2015. One of several illegal street racing venues that ran.

Drag Racing Culture And Community

Underground racing has always been an unofficial part of Los Angeles’ car culture, with bottlenecks converted into open tarmac areas, equipped with slick wheels, high engine blocks and tuners.

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Officials noted the spike during the early months of the pandemic, when stay-at-home orders made LA’s streets crowded.

Promoted by social media, illegal street racing events – and the dangers of the guards – have continued to grow even as the restrictions of the epidemic have been eased and L.A.

Los Angeles officials are considering new measures to combat street racing, joining a growing number of cities taking the fight from the streets to social media and targeting those who organize and promote the races.

As of July, the number of speeding and shootings in Los Angeles is up 27% in 2021, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. LAPD investigators say at least three deaths may have been caused by the dangerous gathering.

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As the event continues to grow, cities across the state and country have sought new tools to curb illegal races and parties.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, where street racing events have exploded again, the San Jose City Council passed an ordinance in late June that makes it a misdemeanor to promote, promote or promote such events online. This measure is believed to be the first of its kind in the world. Offenders face a fine of up to $1,000, six months in jail or a combination of both if convicted.

Two LA leaders, Councilman John Lee and Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, hope to follow suit in Los Angeles. The city took the first steps in that direction on Tuesday, when they authorized further research into the matter.

The proposal approved on Tuesday will instruct the city attorney to discuss the possibility of implementing an ordinance followed by San Jose that “will make it illegal to knowingly encourage, promote, encourage, assist, facilitate, assist, or support the gathering of people as spectators. at street competitions or demonstrations of reckless driving. ” If passed, such a law would allow the city to prosecute people who advertise underground races on social media.

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“An ordinance similar to the one enacted in the city of San Jose will be a deterrent to those who participate in street racing and street racing events as spectators. Without spectators, the events will lose their appeal,” said Rodriguez. “It’s another tool the city can use to protect Angelenos from the ever-increasing threat of illegal street racing that occurs throughout our city.”

After the city attorney’s report is complete, the council will review the case and decide whether to move forward.

Instagram accounts, YouTube channels and other forms of social media have become the norm in Los Angeles’ racing community in recent years, according to law enforcement officials and members of the racing community. A large following on social media means a race organizer can draw crowds to an illegal side event or underground race. Instagram Stories, which disappear after 24 hours, have become the marketing tool of choice for many.

The platforms created celebrities out of cars and drivers and increased the popularity of Los Angeles as a place to show car clubs. Sideshows have become more dangerous because the fans and their interests are now as important as crossing the first line.

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Twice at a time, cars that crashed on Compton Road had skid marks from previous races.

Cities and states are also increasing penalties for illegal speeding amid a nationwide illegal race and more deaths. This month, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that would allow courts to temporarily suspend the driver’s licenses of people convicted of engaging in or prohibiting street racing on the highway. That law goes into effect in 2025.

In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp signed legislation that mandates a minimum of 10 days in jail for speeding offenses, and New York lawmakers are considering measures to use speed cameras at night and on weekends in hot spots to catch speeders. .

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In September, the council voted to direct the Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Street Services to return to collaboration with the LAPD Street Racing Task Force on a menu of traffic calming measures, such as running humps or rumble strips, which can be used where illegal racing is common. The plan is ongoing, and reports are forthcoming.

LAPD Cmdr. Al Pasos, who oversees the entire traffic bureau, said the city and the department are exploring several measures to reduce the dangers of speeding on the roads.

He said that “intervention devices,” such as temporary speed bumps and pop-up traffic circles, in areas popular with runners can play a role in affecting drivers’ ability to run. Pasos said he knows the city is considering taking a similar approach to San Jose.

“It will be difficult to prove,” he said. Pasos said the key question is whether the charge will be handled by the traffic court as a ticket or by the city attorney’s office.

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UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh said the constitution’s criminalization of online promotion of illegal racing events would be relevant to the speech in question.

If someone posted an Instagram post saying, for example, that illegal street racing is okay and everyone should break the law by doing it, they would be protected by the constitution, he said. But if the post was advertising a certain event and encouraging people to come, it is constitutionally permissible for this speech to be punished by the government, said Volokh.

“If they write it properly and if they don’t insist on trying to control it as much as they can, then I see the possibility that it will be in line with the constitution,” said Volokh.

A Times investigation found that 179 people died in speed races in Los Angeles County from 2000 to 2017, and investigators said road racing has become more serious in recent years.

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Head-to-head drag racing often meets street racing in pop culture has been happening more often in the Valley, according to researchers. They say the unfairness of the competition is dangerous for pedestrians. Some hot spots are similar to running, such as the stretch of Foothill Boulevard off the 210 Freeway in Lake View Terrace.

LAPD Capt. Andrew Neiman, who oversees the Valley Traffic Division, said officers need to explain the dangers when following or entering to arrest speeders. “We were following another group, and they entered the freeway and started going 100 mph. At that point we have to assess the risk of stopping them. Even with a helicopter it is difficult,” he said.

The police often struggle to handle drivers and spectators at large pick-up points because the number of police officers is no match for the crowds of drivers who leave 300 people protesting.

Street racers are also gaining experience, veterans of the Street Racing Task Force say. Although impounding a driver’s car for 30 days used to be the ultimate punishment — departments often post videos or photos on social media of high-profile and foreign pickpockets being towed — others have figured out ways to do it.

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They register the car to a friend, who then says that it did not allow such behavior when they borrowed their car from their friend and so they return it.

In August, three people in a Volkswagen were killed when they turned left into the path of two racing cars near Andover Drive and Glenoaks Boulevard in Burbank. Jaiden Kishon Johnson, 20, of Burbank; Natalee Asal Moghaddam, 19, of Calabasas; and Cerain Baker, 21, who died in the Aug.

The driver of the gray Kia involved in the crash has been charged with three counts of first degree murder and one count of reckless driving, police said. Hamlet Arseni Aghajanyan, 19 of Burbank is innocent. The driver of the Mercedes-Benz, aged 17, was also arrested and remains in custody.

Richard Winton is an investigative writer for the Los Angeles Times and part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2011. Known as @lacrimes on Twitter, during his nearly 30 years at The Times he has also been part of the crime scene. journalists won Pulitzers in 1998, 2004 and 2016.

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Julia Wick is a political reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He and his colleagues won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in journalism for a published recording that boosted Los Angeles politics. He was also part of the team