This could be the plot for a movie, "Fast and Furious Canada," or maybe "Fast and Furious, the Young and the Rich."
Police in British Columbia say they impounded $2 million worth of high-end vehicles this week after witnesses reported the 13 cars racing on a metro Vancouver highway at speeds of 125 mph (200 kph).
The high-end race cars included a Ferrari, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, an Audi, an Aston Martin, Nissans and a Mercedes, according to a Royal Canadian Mounted Police press release.
Two of the racers would run side-by-side to block other traffic going in their direction on the highway while the others cars would take off in a race, witnesses told the RCMP.
"These drivers seemed to be looking for attention. Well, they definitely got the attention of police," Cpl. Holly Marks, spokesperson for the Lower Mainland District Regional Police Service, said in the press release.
What the racers, who police said are all under age 21, won't get is harsh punishment.
"Each driver will be charged with Driving without Reasonable Consideration and receive a violation ticket with a specified penalty of $196. Additionally, these drivers will be responsible for all associated towing and storage charges," according to the RCMP press release.
That's because police didn't actually catch them in the act and acted only on witness accounts. They weren't caught on radar, video or seen by a police officer, Superintendent Norm Gaumont, RCMP officer in charge of traffic enforcement for the Lower Mainland, told the Surrey Now newspaper.
"I know there's a lot of disappointment, wondering why we only charged them with an offence of $196. They fact of the matter is, we have to look at all the evidence we have and what we're able to prove," Surrey Now quoted Gaumont as saying. "That's why we've charged them with driving without due consideration for the public."
If police were able to charge the 13 drivers with more severe offenses, they could have faced forfeiture of their vehicles, according to a Vancouver Sun report.
The RCMP said most of the drivers were operating their vehicles on "N" class licenses, which means they had not yet attained full driving privileges. Only one of the drivers was the registered owner of the car they were driving, Gaumont told Surrey Now.
The drivers included 12 men and one woman, according to Surrey Now. Gaumont told the paper they were on their way to have a meal when they decided to race.
According to the Sun, the vehicles were:
if you can afford even a 2005 DB9, you will probably have no problems with the $196 dollar ticket.
IKR!
WOW GEEZES PEOPLE! ITS NOT LIKE YOUR IN A MOVIE!
here in Ohio,a police officer must see you doing an illegal act in a moving vehicle to be charged.
Man, when I was in college we were racing Chevy Vegas and Ford Pintos... I guess I went to the wrong college..
Or simply born in the wrong family/side of the street... Me and you both
PoorDude, these aren't typical Canadian college kids. They're offspring of rich Chinese immigrants.
It's the ones that drive corollas and are in the left lane impeding traffic.
Yeah, whatever...I smoked all of 'em in my 1986 Corolla.
How dare they drive less than ten over the limit!
$195+ towing charges.. lol... pocket changed for these rich kids who drive $250K worth of car
-_-
All I want to know is which car won the race...
2012 GTR won, its a super car killer!
^ was thinking the exact same thing!! =)
A Powder Blue Prius won...but can't be confirmed, since it got away! They were going that fast trying to catch him!...reportedly..
haha COPS...... i hope this burns they got away with it
Oh Wow –_–
If there vehicles were confiscated their parents would just buy their spoiled kids a new one.
When does it say anywhere in the article that the people involved were college kids? Maybe reading comprehension should be taught more in our school systems.
The commentators are basing their assumptions on this....
"What the racers, who police said are all under age 21, won't get is harsh punishment."
It's a safe assumption to make. If the kids can afford these cars, they are most likely attending high end universities as well. If not, then they're probably into illegal markets to be able to afford cars like that.
A fine of under $200 and the cars get impounded for a week...oh, on the news here they said the kids didn't seem to care and were smiles and basically knew nothing would really happen to them (which is true as you can tell). Nice to have parents that can afford that kind of car for their kid...geesh. And we wonder what's wrong with our younger generation.
Ready. Set. Go. Eh!
This is ridiculous, so if I shoot "around" a crowd of people and not actually injure anyone do I only receive a fine for unlawful discharge of a firearm?
It's the whim of the arresting officer whether to add reckless endangerment, public mischief, and/or... as he sees fit.