Car Meets Being Shut Down

It's almost the end of June. The start to summer 2015. When people can finally enjoy the warmer weather outdoors! Let alone take a day off to enjoy a nice day.

But wait. What happened to all those weekly car meets that various groups organize throughout the city? Unfortunately if you haven't already heard, they have been shut down by the cops. It first started with Kennedy Commons, then Ertefa, then La Paloma and now recently GhostsRacing meets.

At the most recent meet with GhostsRacing, someone had made a negative comment towards someone with a physical disability, which other people had observed and heard, and got that person kicked out. Then it led to people revving and doing burnouts in pick up trucks in the parking lot, with lots of people nearby. By speeding through a parking lot with crowds of people nearby (and don't forget the kids..people bring out their children as well), they are endangering other people's lives. No wonder the police are not happy.

Those meets are attended by a variety of cars and owners, from exotics to affordable little coupes and sedans, from SUVs to pick up trucks. The attendance is usually very big, so in terms of crowd control, they will need a lot of help from staff. Even then, not everyone will be compliant with rules. As an attendee, everyone is responsible for their own actions. But some people decide to bend the rules because they think they are macho or are too cool for rules.

I find that it's not 16 year olds with a new driver's license in a used car (or new) who try to do crazy burnouts. I've noticed it's guys in the 20's or even 30's who do it. In May, I attended an east end meet with a friend, who had asked me to go with him and his group. It was one of those meets where a variety of cars and trucks met up. Not as big as Ertefa or KC, but it was enough to hurt the ears. We parked and got out to look for his friends, when these cars just started revving and people started launching their cars in the parking lot. It was literally beside a neighbourhood, and it was already 9pm on a weekday. Have some consideration for those living nearby for goodness sakes.

Within the hour, a police SUV showed up to the lot. Most likely because someone put in a noise complaint. He drove around the lot slowly, looking at people's rides, and warning people that it's ok to meet in a parking lot, but to keep the noise level down. i.e NO BURNOUTS OR LAUNCH CONTROL. By that time though, my friend and I already left. A few weeks later, this exact location was shut down by the police according to reports from those who tried to attend.

Is there a way to help stop people from doing stupid things at car meets? Maybe if there was more police presence. Before you enter the lot, a cop will stop you and tell you the rules. Then again, once people hear of police presence at a car meet, people get scared and don't want to go. So then it creates a barrier between police and the car community. We definitely don't want that. But I believe that if attendees are compliant and respect the lot and the people around, the police would have no issues and would not just start ticketing people randomly because they feel like it. I believe having peaceful car meets are possible. But it involves a lot of organizing, a lot of staff, some police presence, and attendees who are willing to respect the rules. Most of the time you do get good organization and a lot of staff to run the meet, but it all comes down to the attendees not respecting the rules. So really, it all stems down to the attendees and the repeat offenders. If you really want to surprise people, make a big meet but don't mention police presence (but actually have the police there anyways). So when people show up, they would think there are no cops. But really, the police would be there and also to remind people that burnouts, loud revs, and launching the cars in a packed parking lot are not accepted and will not be tolerated. By that time, I'm sure it would be too busy to make a U turn to go back home. Besides, you do a random U turn when you're not suppose to, and the cops would just get more suspicious.

With smaller local group meets, I find it to be more respectful. Maybe you'll have the odd person doing a rev to people who want to hear what the exhaust sounds like (because they are looking for an aftermarket exhaust), but you won't see people drifting around parking lots or doing launch controls to show off a car that everyone in that meet currently owns. Because it's a smaller meet, you get to meet people easier. Police presence is almost non existent, and if there is a random cop that drives by, that's what they usually do. Just a drive by, maybe a thumbs up. Otherwise no warnings. If they see the group is well-behaved and respecting the property, then they won't have a problem with the meet being held there.

It seems like the only meets that have been decent are Cars & Coffee and the Saturn Drives, along with the smaller weekly meets with Subies and Gencoupes etc. Huge meets are almost impossible to attend now without it getting rowdy or having cops shut it down. It's kind of sad how a small number of nutmegs could ruin an entire scene for everyone else. Then again, some cops just hate modified cars or car meets in general, and would do whatever it takes to make it a living hell for everyone. Very rare. I believe it's those who don't respect the rules that cause the majority of the problem.