Audio By Carbonatix
San Diego takes dangerous street takeovers and reckless driving seriously. So seriously, the police in the California city have resorted to crushing criminals’ cars. Does it work? Yes and no. Are there better solutions? Absolutely.
San Diego is now crushing the cars of reckless drivers and street takeover participants– and it’s the wrong move
Police in San Diego recently crushed a Yamaha R1 and a Toyota Chaser, a rare car for American shores. The reason? They were participating in street takeovers, a dangerous gathering of reckless drivers and criminals.
San Diego Police Department Lieutenant Travis Easter says the move is “impactful” for violators and would-be participants. “The mentality is: ‘I’m going to get my vehicle back. I’ll get towed, I’ll get my vehicle back, my buddy will pick it up,’ and that is not the case,” Easter said.
“And that is what the vehicle crushing is — nobody is going to get that vehicle back, that vehicle that has been a danger to the street and is not going back out there.” As if there isn’t an endless supply of other options for those reckless drivers out there.
Seize and sell
Now, dear reader, a judge in the state of California can order that a car be seized and sold. It’s most often in the context of divorce or to settle debts, but it’s applicable here.
Should a motorist get caught participating in a silly, smoky street takeover, seize the car. But don’t destroy it. It’s wasteful, and frankly, ineffective.
Once that driver is finished with the personal consequences of their reckless driving, namely jail time, nothing is stopping them from, you guessed it, getting another car.
Instead, San Diego should do what many other cities do, namely, seize the car and sell it at auction or to companies that repurpose parts for sale. It’s not the driver’s property any longer, and the sale can provide vital funds for law enforcement efforts. Conversely, it costs money to crush a car or motorcycle.
It’s not just my opinion
Even police officers aren’t sold on the idea of crushing cars. “Cop for 38 years, what you are doing is illegal and a useless deterrent,” one person wrote on Police 1 in response to the initiative.
“Does nothing to stop getting another car,” they added. “Same as guns and drugs. Endless supply. Whoever came up with this idea is worse than the criminals on the street. To destroy the cars, they must be solely owned by the driver of the car at the time. There are many simpler and effective means to stop the problem.”
They’re not alone, either. “As a former auto body shop manager and insurance adjuster, I recommend that these seized cars not be crushed but rather sold to auto dismantlers,” one reader responded to The San Diego Union Tribune.
“Selling these cars to dismantlers would not only raise revenue but also reduce expenses for the city, with the caveat of the sale being that the cars must be dismantled and sold for parts rather than being resold in whole or crushed,” they added.
“These used parts represent valuable savings for consumers and save the environment as well. At a time when tariffs are adding to the cost of new replacement parts and supply chain issues cause delays to auto part deliveries, it makes better sense to utilize these very valuable resources.” See? Solutions, San Diego.
