Good thing they put in those four way stop signs on pike cc/ @SeattlePD @SNGreenways @seattledot pic.twitter.com/pRTbXje0bE
— david reeves (@dreeves) November 21, 2021
They were fast and the cops got furious as drivers in souped-up cars and classic rides spun donuts and burned rubber in the middle of Pike/Pine’s nightlife scene late Saturday night.
Videos from the burst of petrol fumes and Vin Diesel-level testosterone spread across Seattle social media this weekend showing drivers cruising through the area and filling 10th and Pike with clouds of smoke from the noisy burnouts.
There were no reported arrests but SPD made several traffic stops in the area around midnight. According to East Precinct radio updates, a new model grey Charger was stopped for possible reckless driving at 11th and Pike and a 1966 classic Chevy was pulled over on E Pine while a 1986 Chevy El Camino was also stopped at 12th Ave near the East Precinct. Someone reportedly threw an object at a police cruiser during the response but no damage was reported. An offer to send extra officers to the area was declined as responding SPD units reported the scene was clearing a little after midnight.
Saturday night’s takeover follows other so-called “sideshow” incidents in the city and on Capitol Hill this year. In March, CHS reported on a sideshow incident in which one driver was busted for DUI. At the time, police said that the dangerous activities fall under the state’s reckless driving statutes. Unlike municipalities to the north and south of the city, Seattle does not have specific drag racing or stunt driving laws.
The incident comes as new 4-way stops are being added to key Pike/Pine intersections in efforts to make traffic safer at some of the busiest crossings in the city.
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I will not stand for this war on guys with cool cars.
I might frame it instead as ‘war on the neighborhood by guys with cool cars’
Capitol Hill is thriving.
I’m so old I can remember a time it felt safe for LGBTQ people to go out there on a weekend night.
I remember when people didn’t Concern Troll pretending like these are related. Weird Lib behavior though.
Gone are the days when people would burn rubber in an empty parking lot at night in the suburbs. Now, not one lick of safety or well being for others is thought of.
Would the UW parking lot be ‘suburban’ enough for you…. saw someone doing donuts there last night as I was commuting home. I got a sudden (unrelated) tire blowout and ended up stopping dead uncomfortably near to them. I get the feeling they assumed I was stopping to call the cops, because they quit and took off like a shot. Idiotic thing to be doing anyway.
I love the imbeciles who stand in the street filming, No doubt the sites of their eventual deaths by being run over will become shrines intended to increase pedestrian safety efforts. The whole thing places Seattle’s failure to ensure civility and public safety on broad display. How hard would it be to stop these drivers, who are just blocks from the precinct, ticket them and impound their vehicles? Failure it seems is our only option.
I have no doubt that many of the people standing so close, filming, and even walking up to the cars as they were doing this were complicit, they were filming it for the use of their pals the drag racers, on their social media feeds or whatever. Otherwise there’s no reason a sane person would put themselves in such danger. IMHO
“Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way, whats the matter with kids today?” (from Bye Bye Birdie – Broadway musical and film). enjoy at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wCXr_6wgns
“There were no reported arrests”
So same time next week guise?
Every single person commenting probably drives terribly on I-5 or speeds. Tsk Tsk.
They do this crap in Belltown too. Straight guys trying to outdo one another with loud mufflers, booming base, screeching tires all at 2 am.
Most Tue night around 8-9pm 30+ mortocycles speed, wheelies, etc on 1st Ave downtown. I call police several times. No luck. SPD public officer offered no solution. I asked for a response after a call to 911. Officer said 10 min after I called, he didn’t see anything. Of course they were gone.
I sent email to my district rep – Andrew. No response for over two months. Then his staff person says he has no control over this. I would hope he could care about what happens in the city. Maybe he could apply pressure to get this addressed.
I also have seen the car spinning in other cities.
I used to live in Renton, and let me tell you first hand: having specific laws against this sort of thing has no effect whatsoever! Which makes sense, as it could be against state law to begin with.
We always suspected the car guys down there were cops themselves, or that the cops didn’t care for whatever reason (lazy, paid off, more important things to do, etc).
I say let the boys be boys. It’s a nightlife district not the middle of a residential street.
…except it is the middle of a residential street. There are probably 800 people living within 60 yards of that intersection. It’s super loud.