Cars Doing Burnouts in my Neighborhood

*the below is just a joke*

Your lemons car has a cage, right?  

84FSP said:

Side note - expanding construction foam does NOT do a fantastic job of resolving fart can issues...

Please elaborate...

84FSP said:

I both understand your frustration and the idipcy of my youth.  I thanfully had some older guys (queue the summer jobs at the filling station ) that kept me honeat and taught me the accepatable ways of the juvenile jedi.  Carry on - be the adult - track kiddos back to parent and talk accordingly.

That’s the smart approach.  Face it, the world is getting crowded.  But there are ways to turn a negative into something good.  Not that it’s easy and too many people just go off. 

Some here advocate confrontation and retaliation. Without thinking through the next step. 

Now maybe these kids are checker players and if you react they will tuck their tail and go away.  Doubtful since they are young and not too brite  based on repeated conduct that will get them in trouble. 

Maybe you have to be a chess player and think moves ahead.  If you do this, they will retaliate this way, If you do that they will come back with something else. 

Last night on my way home I turned up the street the car always comes from.  There's an old guy up the street a few miles who has a pumpkin stand in front of his house.  I stopped and chatted with him a bit- he said he hadn't seen nor heard the car in question. He had a grand daughter who lived next door and she was just getting off the school bus as I was talking to him.  Nice guy- seemed to have been there a while, and knew a few people, and he said he'd keep an ear out.

I cruised up and down the street and checked out the cul de sacs that run off it.  No sign of any small black foreign RWD numbers.

Before heading home, I stopped at the neighbor who has the kids.  His wife was just getting home from work- teacher at a school down the road.  They both said they'd heard the car, seen it, and once or twice had called the police.  He said he'd offered to them to have them sit in his driveway and wait for them.  They seemed pretty concerned- as you can see their house is right on the street and very near the intersection.  He thought he might know where the kid lives, pretty sure he's a local high school kid and a friend of his son's knows him.  We exchanged phone numbers and I told them to call the police if they heard it again.  

As I was reading my daughter to bed about 8PM, I heard the car again...he came to the intersection, ripped a pathetic little burnout and zipped past my house.  I sprinted outside in my slippers, but he was gone before I could get his plate #.  I waited by the road and called the police.  About 5 minutes later I heard him come around from the other direction and turn down the street again, so he must have gone round the "block".  Police came by about an hour later as I was out in the garage.  Different deputy tonight- still Sheriff's office though.  He said to keep calling it in, if I bug them enough they might send a car out to do a regular patrol.  

Looks like you have a pattern. 

Most likely all you now need to do is wait 5 minutes or so for him to complete his loop next time he puts on his show.  If he isn't back in that amount of time, he likely stopped at a friend's house or his own that he was cruising past this last time. Either way, it sounds like he is very local. 

I'm going to give you a different idea: you could make friends with these kids.  They seem to not have any positive car-guy influence in their lives, and that gives them poor standards of automotive behavior.  A good role model with some automotive responsibility could be a good thing.  As far as approach, I would challenge them to a burnout contest.  Perhaps, in a location that is better than right in front of your house.  Maybe a legal event in the area?  I guess the hard part is changing the dynamic in the current interaction between the gang and Walt Kowalski?

So maybe you've already burned this bridge.  They know you, they recognize you- what you need is someone undercover, to infiltrate their crew.  Someone young enough to pass as one of them.  Hollywood has already got this whole plan worked out for you:  

I have two different brightly colored, loud import cars.  One of them even makes silly turbo noises.  Just say the word.

In reply to FIYAPOWA :

That's not a bad idea. If they balk, then bring hell. 

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

I dunno...VCH seems hip enough that he could probably pass as a teen

In reply to STM317 :

I am down with that rock punk musical stylings, yo.

FIYAPOWA said:

I'm going to give you a different idea: you could make friends with these kids.  They seem to not have any positive car-guy influence in their lives, and that gives them poor standards of automotive behavior.  A good role model with some automotive responsibility could be a good thing.  As far as approach, I would challenge them to a burnout contest.  Perhaps, in a location that is better than right in front of your house.  Maybe a legal event in the area?  I guess the hard part is changing the dynamic in the current interaction between the gang and Walt Kowalski?

I am so sitting on my front porch with my dog and a cooler of beer tonight.  

volvoclearinghouse said:

FIYAPOWA said:

I'm going to give you a different idea: you could make friends with these kids.  They seem to not have any positive car-guy influence in their lives, and that gives them poor standards of automotive behavior.  A good role model with some automotive responsibility could be a good thing.  As far as approach, I would challenge them to a burnout contest.  Perhaps, in a location that is better than right in front of your house.  Maybe a legal event in the area?  I guess the hard part is changing the dynamic in the current interaction between the gang and Walt Kowalski?

I am so sitting on my front porch with my dog and a cooler of beer tonight.  

Is it wrong that I'm 22 and see this as a perfectly valid way to spend an evening?

As someone did a burnout from the stop sign up the street from ym house last night I thought of this thread.... Now I am suburban, it happens occasionally, but I get more of the drag racers, its ~3/4 mile long straight street from the stop sign, past my house. Plenty of evenings I have thought about getting a can of quick dry yellow paint and a "bump" sign to see how long people slam on their brakes for.... 

Best of luck, I think repeatedly calling the sheriff is the best bet in your case. Sounds like the enjoy pissing you off now.

[Warning...this may as well have been written from a lawnchair on my front porch/lawn]

Yeah, yeah...these kids lack a "positive automotive role model."  

Some of these posts are written assuming VCH has the time, patience, or just plain desire to be that positive role model.  Just a guess...but he probably doesn't.

A positive role model is going to tell the kids it's not cool to do burnouts in front of homes.  That's also what they're going to learn from local law enforcement.  

As a one-time-16-year-old-boy-with-a-driver-license I can tell you the lesson will stick just the same either way.  I had plenty of positive automotive role models.  I still did some stupid stuff.  And embarrassment/trouble were what really drove the lesson home.  

A kid in front of me was driving a VERY distinctive car up my road the other day.  I was admiring the car and thought it was pretty cool until the passenger chucked a gas-station-drink-cup out the window into the ditch.

If/when I see that car at a local whatever, I'll offer some unsolicited advice about choices and friends and such.  

It's accountability.  That's what it really comes down to.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

You need to assert dominance with bigger, gnarlier burnouts.  It's the only reasonable way to handle this situation.

To the OP:  I had a similar situation in my neighborhood.  I ended up tracking down the offending party.  OK, first I screamed at them from at the top of my lungs from my front porch (ineffective).  Then I tracked them down.  I'm sure the kids were expecting a confrontation.  Instead, as calmly as I could, I explained to them that I was young once, and did stupid stuff like burnouts and drag racing.  I also told them I had personally worked on vehicular homicide cases that started out of just that kind of youthful stupidity and didn't want to see someone their age with a body hung on them.  I encouraged them to get involved in some sort of organized motorsports, specifically, if they really wanted to do burnouts and race each other, our local drag strip does "grudge nights" every Friday.  I also told them there would be no "next conversation" about this issue with me.  If it happened again, they would be dealing with the police and I would do whatever was necessary to get their licenses pulled.  It actually put a stop to the shenanigans, at least in front of my house.  Approaching it from the perspective of "I really don't want to see someone get hurt here" seemed to help set the right tone. 

Maybe you need to modify one of those signs I see popping up all around here:  instead of "drive as if your kids live here,"  it needs to say "drive as if your parents and parole officer live here..;

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

So maybe you've already burned this bridge.  They know you, they recognize you- what you need is someone undercover, to infiltrate their crew.  Someone young enough to pass as one of them.  Hollywood has already got this whole plan worked out for you:  

I have two different brightly colored, loud import cars.  One of them even makes silly turbo noises.  Just say the word.

I mean, I certainly won't try to stop you... 

ClemSparks said:

[Warning...this may as well have been written from a lawnchair on my front porch/lawn]

Yeah, yeah...these kids lack a "positive automotive role model."  

Some of these posts are written assuming VCH has the time, patience, or just plain desire to be that positive role model.  Just a guess...but he probably doesn't.

A positive role model is going to tell the kids it's not cool to do burnouts in front of homes.  That's also what they're going to learn from local law enforcement.  

As a one-time-16-year-old-boy-with-a-driver-license I can tell you the lesson will stick just the same either way.  I had plenty of positive automotive role models.  I still did some stupid stuff.  And embarrassment/trouble were what really drove the lesson home.  

A kid in front of me was driving a VERY distinctive car up my road the other day.  I was admiring the car and thought it was pretty cool until the passenger chucked a gas-station-drink-cup out the window into the ditch.

If/when I see that car at a local whatever, I'll offer some unsolicited advice about choices and friends and such.  

It's accountability.  That's what it really comes down to.

 

Thank you for that- exactly right- I have two kids of my own that I need to be positive role models for.  And I've got a wife who needs me, alive and at home.  This kid has, or ought to have, parents to be his role models.  As fas as I'm concerned, I've done a pretty good job being the active, involved, concerned citizen by a) confronting the problem (even if I could have handled that better, admittedly), b) informing the local constable of it when it occurs, and c) engaging my neighbors, more of whom I will talk to as time and circumstances permit.  

No burnouts last night.  *shrug*  Maybe he ran out of gas money, or had to spend it on weed.  

In reply to kazoospec :

I regret that I have but one upvote to give to your post.  If I identify where the kid lives, I think I'll try that exact tactic.  I'll even throw in the bit about the vehicular homicide.  

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

You need to assert dominance with bigger, gnarlier burnouts.  It's the only reasonable way to handle this situation.

I have to say, I think you may have set the record for the most number of upvotes on a comment.  42 and standing.  Dang.    Nominating your comment for "Say What?"

I have never owned a car that would do a burnout. 

Put a sign that says "Smile you're on Camera" at the intersection where the burnouts are happening.  Maybe add an outline of a Nissan 240 and a smiley face to that sign.  And a middle finger.

+1 for trail cams.  They run off memory cards, so there is no limitation on range from WiFi.  BLINK cameras from Amazon are OK...but their motion sensor probably wouldn't activate in time to catch the license plate.  WiFi range might also be a concern.  

+1 for sitting on the porch w/a cooler of beer.  As if you need a reason for that?

About the same time I got my E30 fixed somebody started laying big rubber patches at the end of my street.  I've never heard them do it.  Probably a bro-dozer (FL speak for lifted pickup)...but I do wonder if anyone in the neighborhood noticed the "new" car in my driveway showing up about the same time.  On second thought..I'm probably the only person in my neighborhood that even noticed the big smokey burnout lines on the pavement.  

Totally forgot about the incident that happened during Daytona Bike Week two years ago.  Guy was essentially drag-racing down my 25mph residential street on a Harley.  My neighborhood has lots of vacation rental properties, but also a few families with kids who ride bikes, etc.  My wife made it out to the street on one of the passes and he essentially gave her a head-nod. Did. Not. Slow. Down.   Continued to drive like an E36M3. Later in the day same guy takes an 80's KZ750 (or UJM)  and does the same thing.  1/2 the street calls the cops (again). Cops show up and find them in the garage.  The bike trailier in front of the house was a dead giveaway. Guy said the bike got stuck in gear and he was just trying to get it unstuck. 

Police did nothing.  

In reply to Hoondavan :

But what can the police really do in that situation?  Ticket a guy based on hearsay?  Ain't happening.

This situation blows.  If the intimidation bullE36 M3 had been left out, I would have hoped the police could just chat with them and make the problem go away.  Put intimidation into the mix and I'm okay with throwing the book at them.  That is completely unacceptable, and if you're old enough to drive you're old enough to bear the punishment for that crap.

I try to do my burnouts when my neighbors are at church,  so I don’t disturb them. So far no complaints.