In Maine, Illegal Street Takeovers are Becoming a Serious Problem

I may or may not have friends who do things like this.

To be fair, my friends are a bit older and their participation in activities like this is done a bit more safely. They have a tendency to head up to Maine's quieter highways up north, and open up their cars to rather excessive rates of speed. They also send spotter cars ahead. Not just to look for cops, but to know who else might be on the road. They prefer empty stretches of highway, as it's much safer.

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By no means am I condoning this activity. But I know it happens. Or maybe during the pandemic when Mainer Fred Ashmore set a new record at the time for doing the "Cannonball Run". He basically drove from New York City, to Southern California in about 25 hours. Not the least bit legal, but he did it safely.

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There's nothing safe about these illegal street takeovers.

Police departments around Maine have started letting the public know more about these illegal cars "clubs", who will come to a public area, and literally block off the street while they're doing burnouts or racing. This comes with not only danger to the drivers of the cars, but potential harm to innocent bystanders as well.

Last fall, according to News Center Maine, a group was busted up in Pownal, only to move a little way down the road into Yarmouth. When law enforcement caught up with them in Yarmouth, they scattered again, only to regroup a third time at the West Falmouth Hannaford parking lot. And then even one more time in the Maine Mall parking lot!

Who are these car "clubs"?

One group police officials have been watching is a group called the "Slow Boyz". They likely organize through social media apps and 40-50 people will show up with their cars and engage in all this crazy activity. Police departments are saying if this keeps up, it's only a matter of time before someone is killed.

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It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when, they say. So while there's an obvious thrill out of making loud noises with your car and ruining your tires, it would be nice if this could be done more safely. People I know have somehow found "constructive" ways to do pretty illegal things. What's your next move?

You'd think gas prices alone would chill these people out, right?