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:
Sounds like my garage.
what would happen to an american, that broke the law in one of these countries???
Nothing really, unless he/she was caught in the act, which btw, these guys weren't.
If you take away the 2 who were blocking the traffic then you end up with 11 people...wonder if any of these people are missing a foot?
I hear that in the Province of Ontario, they have a street racing or stunt racing law which states you can receive a minimum fine of $2,000, an immediate driver suspension and vehicle impoundment, as well as a maximum jail sentence of six months. I guess this is what happens when the RCMP are not the provincial police. They have their own cops called the Ontario Provincial Police & they are really tough. They even pulled over a grandmother who was ripping up the highway – way to go granny – too bad about your car though. My friends up there tell me it has stopped a lot of racing on public roads.
Sources here in Vancouver said they are mostly Asian kids. They heard them spoke Chinese and spoke very poor English with the police and the truck tower. I seen this countless times, young Asians bling out the fancy wheels and crank the music way up.
It's about time those cars were used for what they were built for and used to tour the streets at 80km
None of those cars are American...
I am 24 and fortunate to own exotic cars as well. Did i buy my cars? no, my parents did. So what! i dont think this article was talking about the dad, the mom or uncle Sam. They endangered drivers and bystanders, they were cited and got the cars impounded. So guys stick to the point, and stay away from ethnic backgrounds cause stupid comments can also endanger the newly learning and potential minds.
sell your car and help pay off some poor hardworking person's student loans, like mine, thx
Are you kidding me. Ticket them without actually catching them?
It's so funny that no one received a fine for the playoff riots and they have those people on camera. Vancouver's police force is a joke. Fire the Chief and bring in a real cop.
All under 21? All of these kids are driving 6 figure cars, Daddy will be giving his full support behind this guy. FYI my money is on one of the GTRs
No, we're not kidding you. People are in jail over the playoff riots. Idiot.
Considering this has nothing to do with Vancouver Police, not sure where you are going with this? These guys were first reported out of the George Massey Tunnel (Delta Cops) and were nabbed in South Surrey (RCMP). There were quite a ways out of Vancouver when they were finally oulled over.
Like some of the more sensible posters stated clearly: the charges were based on phone complaints–most likely from the people held up by the two drivers who blocked traffic. The fines are all the cops can do if they don't have hands on evidence. Here's where the hypocrisy comes into play: had the two drivers not held up the traffic, nobody would have complained, you would have seen a 500 car rat-pack screaming up highway 99 @ 200 kph. ROFL. I've gone that fast myself on the same road in my BMW, and had faster cars whiz right by. The problem here is ESL training: rich kids come over from Asian, loaded with money, supposedly going to school; and lie to their parents about what they're doing. They pool their money and buy super cars instead of paying tuition. Eventually the parents find out and drag them back to Asia by the ears and put them back to work in the family business. It's just another day in Vancouver. God I love this town. ROFL.
Go Speedracer! Go Speedracer! Go Speedracer Go!!
How do you feel about your decision to spend the time it took to post this? Was it worth it? Didn't think so.
Excellent comment, keep up the good work!
He can have any opinion he wants. If you mess with him... I will smoke you.
Racer X Rules.
Really ! you would shoot them ! Why dont you put some lead in your mouth, swallow them , ( mean Lots of lead ) and jump into a lake. Seems like your intelligence is already affected by heavy lead poisoning.
WHere do they get the money from ? Drugs / Triad / Illegal immigration of chinese in containers ? Wonder where these kids make enough money to splurge on like this.. Does not look like its made at the end of a honest days hard work.
Its all mommy money from China. Look at the parking lot of any Vancouver high school. The students lot is Bentley, Porsche, Ferarri, etc. The teachers lot are Honda, Toyota, etc.
Its the Wal-Mart money coming back. They sell us cheap consumer goods and in return we sell them overpriced cars and houses.
I'm 24 years old and i live in Atlanta. I have an 2011 Audi R8 too. I bought it for myself and I don't sell or do drugs.
"full driving privileges"
Be careful when the government tells you something is a "privilege".
Governments should take their own advice.
Driving IS a privilege! Your license is not a RIGHT it's earned, and then needs to be maintained, thank God! If all the morons risking lives on the road isn't enough evidence then I don't know what else to say to you. Sometimes government is a GOOD THING!
It is . . it is not a right. How else do you think graduated licensing or taking a license away when someone drinks and drives.