I have a quick question. I got a video camera for Xmas (along with the promise of progress on getting the title fixed for my camaro) and i am really very excited about it. Once i get the camaro running, i would rather like to record such actions as Burnouts, Donuts, and possibly even the late night kill, all of which is illegal unless i am very much mistaken. The question is, can i be prosecuted off those videos? Obviously, videos of that stuff is all over the net, but if there was somone that really wanted to go after me, could they dredge up a video of me racing or messing around days weeks or even months ago and use that to pin me for somthing like street racing or whatever there is to stick on me?

hopefully not, because my maro will be a beast when she is done (shooting for 400-500 RWHP) and i wanna eat some r.i.c.e.r.s (and share in the fun too!)!

Thanks
~LMSkyliner

edit: forgot r.i.c.e.r. gets blocked out on TGO!

 

Yea, it is kina a gamble. It is a chance you take. I have a few vids and have herd nothing about it yet. I have tons of friends that have them too. Burnouts and donuts can be done in abandon parking lots, watch for poles, but kills, that is just something you chance, hell you chance it by doing it in the first place much less filming it. Just be careful and take it to the track if it is a real concern, that is the best thing to do.

 

if you get caught i imagine that you will be charged by the fullest, and if you have other vids on there...good luck...

 

ha. thanks guys. Obviously you can get in alot of trouble if you get caught in the act, but i wasnt sure what the deal was with a video of the act, where you were not caught.

and trust me, i have no problems taking it to the track, but most of the people around that want to race me are too pathetic to take it to the few tracks around here (we got a road course that is pretty high speed. Very fun. Also a few 1/4 miles but they arnt real big... plus the closest is about 45 mins away.)

I guess ill have to keep the vids to myself.. i cant be getting in trouble

 

i meant if you were caught and they viewed the tape...you may get a lot more penalties. Also anything else that is on the vid that may be viewed as illegal may stick.

I'm sure there is some recourse available to this, but just block out lisence plates before you stick it online, and make sure that there is nothing in your window or anything that will identify you (windshield baners, stickers on dash, things that will identify you) and if you have that just make sure you don't get them in the shot, and you will not be able to be proven it's you unless you speak. EIther way it's definally a grey zone and you may not wanna play around with it. Up to you, just be safe and careful!

 

y.


well for kills i was more or less just thinking of mounting it to the dash or having a passanger hold it or somthing. Then the only plate, or even car anyone would see would be the one i raced...

The burnouts are totally legal for me though. My neighbor owns the like, the last couple hundred feet of our street cause the stupid county paved on his property, then he sued them and now he owns an fair chunk of road! . The best part is, its a dead end, with the end looking basically like a purpose built burnout pit. It is so perfect! So ill get some burnout vids pretty often (i get free used tires through work too.. maybe only 10%, 20% tread left, but if your burning them, who cares!!).

~LMSkyliner

 

lol sounds like you've got it all planned out. Like i said, as long as they can't identify you or your friends voice, and the only plate they might see is yours, as long as you don't have an identifyable hood, you should be in the good. Remember to be safe though!!!

 

Unless of course you are racing and something happens. Then you can be charged with manslaughter. If the other driver wrecks or some dumba$$ pulls out in front of you. Or cop happens to be taking a pi$$ and you blow by him. Have you ever seen what a burnout does to your rear axl.

 

Don't post your real name or connect your real name to your screen names if you post online. So if someone tries to pin you, you deny its you...

 

I'm kind of suprised how many videos there are of stuff like this if its so easy for you to get charged on it. If i was a cop i could just search the net all day and get twice the people

 

It doesn't work like that. You don't think LEOs know that there are videos on the 'net of this stuff? Don't film your info (LP) and you're fine.

 

Really you would have to do something stupid, like film your drivers license, and you in the drivers seat, then say your social security number, then film the street signs and mile markers where you were racing before this would ever go anywhere. Cops seriously have better things to do than to mess with something like this. They can just wait till they see you out somewhere and pin you for something else, as opposed to trying to get the prosecutor to issue a warrant over video evidence that would have to go to court and still be a small crime; it's simply not worth the effort they would have to put into it. As stated above though, this is basically a guilty plea if anything ever happens to you or someone you're racing and the cops get the tape.

 

You would think a police officer would do that but...
I live in a nieghborhood with a 25 mph speed limit. Along the road are 3 county police, the county police chief and 2 state troopers and a police detective behind me. Everyone blows by at 55-60mph. The cops just stand in there yard with there beers watching the cars roll thru. In the last 6 months 2 houses have been ran into on the street. Its only 1/2 mile long. WTF?

 

interesting...

also, would the fact that it would be a digital recording, not a tape, make it any different? Ive heard of some things where you can weazle out of certain situations because of the extent of digital editing equipment and programs, compared to a tape which is pretty much a solid piece of evidence. Just wondering.

 

I'd love to have a track 45 min away, instead it's 2 hours away. Small track, small crowd most of the time and get plenty of runs in.

Little story about when I had a camera mounted on the side of my car while going up a twisty road... Had been on the road many times, knew it very well and also had never seen a highway patrol guy on it. I was doing about 50 in a 35 coming around a corner onto a straight away when a highway patrol truck was coming the other way further up the road around the bend. I pulled over in a turnout up the road a bit (no sense in running, 1 main road out and he could have it blocked easy by his buddies). I was in the process of taking the camera off the car when the highway patrol pulled up behind me and flip his lights on. Told him what was going on about trying the new camera mount. He never once asked to see the footage which I was very happy about. Let me off with a warning to just slow it down

 

In all reality it won't make a difference if the film is digital or on tape or what not; it's only a piece of evidence, the type of evidence used in criminal trials not traffic citations. The big deal is that the officer will have to present it to prosecutor, the prosecutor will have to take on the trial and the officer will have to show up with only the video to prove what you'de done. You could easily say "wasn't me driving, wasn't my car, don't know who the other person is" or you can just be smart about it and block out the license plates before you Youtube the videos. Believe it or not we still live in the land of the free just be careful and logical about what you do. Cops have more serious things to worry about than hunting down street racers on the internet. They can just wait until the next weekend comes around and pull over some people in the act.

 

Most cops are either at doughnut shops or out with their brand new Tazers and Stun guns practicing on the elderly, pregnant women or emotionally distrubed citizens currently. They aren't too worried about most street racers.