Video shows dangerous car rally stunts as Vaughan, Ont. cracks down on illegal events
Officials in Vaughan vowed Tuesday to crack down on illegal car rallies with steep fines as police released a video compilation of “dangerous” car rally incidents from the past few months.
In the video released by York Regional Police, hundreds of vehicles can be seen taking part in various rallies, some in the day and some at night. Aerial footage from a police helicopter shows people rocking vehicles back-and-forth amid large crowds. Vehicles with various modifications are seen smoking, and letting off bright flashes.
The rallies generally take place in the parking lots of big box retail stores. In one part of the video, a hatchback with its trunk open is seen driving around with people sitting in the back and dangling their legs as the vehicle drives. The hatchback then pulls into a McDonald's drive-through where police intercept it.
Police said in a release that the rallies are characterized by “risky driving antics and sizable crowds” and pose a “significant risk” to the community.
“The sheer size and scope of these rallies should be truly alarming to everyone,” YRP Chief Jim MacSween at a news conference Tuesday. “And the dangerous behavior that results is a matter of public safety.”
He said the groups take over parking lots, plazas and other private properties where they engage in driving that either constitutes a criminal offence, such as dangerous driving, or provincial offences, such as drifting, burnouts, wheelies, donuts, and overcapacity vehicles with people hanging from windows and trunks.
“These stunts are often performed in front of groups of onlookers who stand far too close to the dangerous activities in an effort to capture the next viral video for social media,” MacSween said.
The rallies are also sometimes associated with serious criminal activity, police said. Last month more than 100 people attending an unauthorized car rally at Weston Road and Highway 7 where a 15-year-old girl was shot in a plaza parking lot. She survived, but MacSween said that sort of violence is unacceptable in the community.
YRP have logged 532 car rallies in the region since 2001 and 331 of them have taken place in Vaughan, the chief said.
Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca said that council amended the city’s special events and noise bylaws at its March 26 meeting to prohibit any participation in unauthorized car rallies.
People ride sitting in the trunk of a hatchback at a car rally in this image from video released by York Regional Police. (YRP /Handout)
The changes mean that people will be prohibited from collecting money for or advertising a car rally; being a spectator or bringing a vehicle to a car rally; being a passenger at a car rally; impeding regular vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or being a vendor at a car rally.
One could even be fined for having their car at a rally even if they aren't present, with a maximum fine of $10,000.
“Unauthorized car rallies are not allowed in Vaughan. Period,” Del Duca said. “These gatherings are unsettling to residents and businesses, and pose a significant risk to community safety. The behaviour that takes place at these events is unacceptable, and we will be taking every action possible to stop these types of events from happening.”
Police and the city are dubbing their efforts to clamp down on the rallies "Operation Silent Night" and they said they are launching the initiative now as the events tend to pick up again at this time of year.
Participants shake a vehicle at a car rally in video released by York Regional Police. (YRP /Handout)
Those who take part in car rallies could also face financial consequences in terms of their insurability, said Anne Marie Thomas of the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
“Street racing and rallies are a hazard to public safety,” she said. “To those doing this kind of behaviour, you're putting your insurance coverage at risk.”
She warned that people who modify their vehicles to take part in the rallies could also see their insurance voided if they haven't notified their insurer and received approval for the modifications.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.