Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video by CBS Log Angeles
The phenomenon of "street takeovers" is set to get a massive blow in Los Angeles, as the LAPD has announced it will impound every car at these events. It does not stop there, police warn, as spectators' vehicles will also be impounded. While it might take a record number of tow trucks, this might just be the solution to stop people from doing street takeovers.
As police representatives have noted, the vehicles will be impounded for up to 30 days. Even a spectator's car might get the same treatment, but it is unclear how the impound period will be decided.
Many people on the internet are wondering whether a vehicle that is street-parked in an area where a takeover happens might be towed even though its owner or driver did not attend the event. Hopefully, there will be a way to be sure that only the participants' and true spectators' vehicles will be towed, so nobody else will risk getting their vehicles taken away without being at fault.
Initially, just the vehicles that are used to block off streets and highways for these takeovers will be at risk of being impounded, which means that those who are legally parked in the vicinity of a street takeover might not get towed for participating or spectating in the event, but we live in the real world, and mistakes might happen.
Mind you, this crackdown on illegal street racing, as well as these street takeovers, is possible due to a bill that was introduced in January 2022. The said bill imposed an increase in penalties for those involved in the activity, as well as an increase in funding for police to stop the phenomenon.
The issue is not limited to Los Angeles, and police representatives have noted that some of these takeovers have turned into gang-related events that include violent crime.
For example, in 2019, the city council of San Jose, California, unanimously passed a bill that allowed police to arrest any person standing within a 200-feet radius of a street race. That means that even people who are curious to see what is going on might get arrested.
As LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno explained in a press conference, "cars will start disappearing really soon," Fox 11 reported. If you want to avoid the potential consequences of participating in such an event, just steer clear of any illegal street racing, both in California and anywhere else.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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