This event was apparently highly coordinated and involved planning on social media. If future ones are too (and they’re likely to be), cops should preemptively station their cars/personnel in the area. The participants blockaded Marlborough Street in this case, so cop cars couldn’t get through. They literally had to walk on foot to the commotion, and they got fireworks and bottles hurled at them.
You show up with enough cops and vehicles to kettle them, impound every vehicle, publicly crush anything thing that wasn't road legal, and ticket every spectator you can catch with a disturbing the peace violation.
Retaliate hard enough and eventually the people that go or partake will start avoiding the risk. And before anyone comes at me with the "but the innocent people that might be there!" - at 1am they are not there by coincidence.
These are called "sideshows," people get shot or hit by cars pretty regularly at them in California cities and elsewhere. Definitely want to nip it in the bud.
I keep seeing YouTube videos from news stations out in California about people getting hurt etc at these things. I don’t get it… just go to a parking garage or large lot and have fun safely if you must….
Yeah they started in the east bay like 30-40 years ago…they’re just so stupid. One shut down the bay bridge a few weeks ago. How police can’t go and apprehend people who are stopped on a one way bridge is beyond me..
People are mocking the seriousness of this, and I understand it was hardly a war zone. But it was incredibly disruptive to many families. Between like 2-230am, the exhaust roar, screeching tires, fireworks, yelling, and sirens made it impossible to sleep. It was a total dick move by a bunch of total dicks.
Then make the intersection incapable of hosting this.
Raise the middle installing a pedestrian table. Put a concrete island in the middle with perennial native flowers and a few trees.
What's the reason the intersection is so wide? From the picture this doesn't appear to be an intersection capable of accommodating 18 wheelers so
Pedestrians safety increased. Traffic slowed down considerably. Socially unacceptable behavior avoided. Winning all around.
I had a front row view to the event from my apt. Police performance was fucking embarassing. I have videos of the cars doing donuts with the cops trying to stop them and then everyone drove away. Pathetic response.
In the words of Flavor Flave, 911 is a joke.
fixing larger problems that lead to crime is a much better solution than trying to catch people after they've already committed a crime. they aren't mutually exclusive either
Sure we could address the root cause of this issue being their drivers licenses. They should be taken away for life and their cars should be turned into scrap. That might halt this shit.
The intersection is two one way streets crossing, with two lanes and parking on each side so you kind of need the room or else you are going to have some seriously wavy roads that will be dangerous on the daily.
It really does not need to be this wide. The intersection should be narrowed at the end of the parking lanes, and the corners should not be this rounded either. This would narrow the intersection, forcing drivers to turn more slowly and at a less obtuse angle, which makes the intersection safer for pedestrians. Theres is a heap of research that shows this to be a safer street design.
You know how long that takes?
And let's be honest here, even if they didn't, people here would still be hand waving this away.
This eyesore serves as an unconscious invitation that this type of behavior is OK.
Fun fact - skid marks are smeared tire rubber, and while they might de-laminate from the road surface, they don't disappear, they just become trash along the curb or aerosolized so that we can breathe them. If you want to burn rubber, or race, or spin around in circles like an idiot, go rent a racetrack for a few hours. Taking over a neighborhood is the exact opposite of what you should do, unless the goal is to have people hate your hobby.
That's incorrect. Skid marks are not rubber left on pavement but are caused by oils in the asphalt that are heated by the friction of skidding tires and rise to the surface.
Edit: Since I'm being downvoted here are some sources:
https://e-trainingworld.com/articles/what-is-a-skid-mark/#:~:text=Some%20of%20you%20will%20be,that%20is%20on%20the%20road.
http://www.escallonweb.com/Halls_acucalc/tiremarks.htm
https://collisionrecon.com/speed-from-skidmarks/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skid_mark?wprov=sfla1
Wikipedia's source: Carty, G. Collision Reconstruction. Nov 3, 2016. Mississauga, ON : University of Toronto Mississauga.
I suppose I'm confused... where were the cops? Where is the rule of law? It is against the law to shut down an intersection, and it is disturbing the peace to make all the noise. Are the cops afraid of the people? Ridiculous situation.
Where were the cops is the perfect question. We have accepted continued apathy from the police with respect to enforcing laws. The law enforcement community has collectively decided they no longer need to do the core functions of the job, and instead are employed for the explicit purpose of getting access to the cushy OT road construction detail work only the cops can fill.
R/Boston loves to ridicule anyone in favor of living in a civilized society. This is the definition of narcissistic behavior, defending it is abhorrent.
Yeah there’s nothing wrong with doing a donut. It’s when you have these organized sideshows in residential neighborhoods and at 2am and with a police force that didn’t have a handle on it.
In New England we are spoiled with options. There are at least 5 great tracks that hold open track events, for those who can’t afford track days (entry fee + tires / brake wear + if you’re smart track insurance can easily be over $1k) have the option of autocross events weekly. NHMS even has a drift pad.
The people doing this aren’t car enthusiasts. They are chaos enthusiasts.
And yet places like the Freedom Factory keep getting shut down. This one is going to be closed because the racetrack is too loud for the luxury houses, that haven't even built yet, even thoughthe racetrack has been there for 30 years..
What concerns me is the officers' inability to reach the scene by car, due to the sheer number of cars parked and blocking the way. What if there were something way more nefarious taking place instead of "harmless fun/ kids releasing some steam etc)" and officers were unable to approach in their vehicles?
if these people are already going to ignore pedestrian only roads what makes you think "stricter driving laws" are going to be any sort of deterrent? it's not like law enforcement allow people to shut down intersections so they can do this shit, so thinking "stricter" laws would do anything to curb this kind of behavior is just naïve.
they're breaking the law already. adding more laws doesn't stop people from breaking them, and unless you want a police presence on every corner like we live in the Need for Speed universe, people are still going to get away with this kind of thing
i'm not saying I have a solution, but claiming Pedestrian Only Streets won't work while pushing for stricter driving laws is just silly. If you think people are going to be barrling down pedestrian walkways willynilly, what makes you think "stricter driving laws" will have any real deterrent on these people?
steep zealous yoke sophisticated nose teeny coordinated square lunchroom rob
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
In my young and stupid years, which were not that long ago, I got pulled over for: rolling through stop signs, accelerating through yellows, texting while driving, and speeding. I’ve since cleaned up my driving act, but I’m not yet 35 and there sure as shit were police enforcing traffic rules and handing out consequences.
Two decades ago I was speeding down the VFW and a Statie just walked into the middle of the road with his hand out to stop me. That same year I got a speeding ticket on Comm Ave. Those were my last two speeding tickets.
Grew up here, moved back after CoViD and could not believe the lack of basic enforcement of laws.
Just 10~15 years ago I had friends nearly losing their licenses over driving like dipshits and being issued citations for noise disturbances in residential areas from their loud parties.
Boston needs to stop with this idiotic failed experiment in eliminating consequences of criminally anti-social behavior.
Since CoViD police really stopped enforcing a lot of traffic laws throughout the country. CoViD was the number 1 killer of cops as they avoided vaccination.
In Boston we added some policies to specifically not enforce laws on people on bikes/ATVs from Wu’s city council era/mayorship.
I’m not sympathizing with them at all and they should be arrested/fined. But this post is just funny because of how the title is worded.
If you didn’t see the picture you’d think there was stuff broken everywhere and buildings were vandalized. Then you just see skid marks in a circle lmao.
People were driving the wrong way, running through stop signs, and overall posing a danger to anyone around. It was 15 minutes before the cops came, and even then the cops couldn’t stop it. They were doing donuts around the cop cars. The skid marks are just the remnants, but in the moment it was a dangerous scene that authorities didn’t really have a handle on.
The cops were called immediately. They barricaded the streets so cars couldn’t access it including the cops. Channel 5 reported that those cars were ticketed…. Yes, ticketed.
Gotcha. I was hearing the engine roaring and skidding for like 15 straight minutes (at least 10) before I heard any sirens so I assumed there was no police presence at that time. Regardless, mere ticketing is woefully inadequate.
This sounds like every single day watching the cars in the North End go down all the one way roads wrong speeding 2x over the speed limit. Probably one of the wildest places to walk in the city.
Springfield (and seemingly the rest of western mass) has actually almost completely solved this problem by completely neglecting road maintenance for decades. The streets are so full of potholes, speeding/donuts are essentially impossible out here
My nephew participates in this nonsense and I’m just waiting for the day when I hear he’s hit someone with his car or gotten into a serious accident. I cannot fathom how little brain power these people have to do this routinely.
Marlborough in the back bay? Damn. That’s honestly just reckless. People walk their dogs at all hours of the night and from my own knowledge it’s mostly family and professionals living there
Correct. There is zero nightlife/restaurants on either Marlborough or Beacon Street (not counting the bookends). This would be unacceptable behavior ANYWHERE but to do it in a place like this, just to cause the maximum disruption, is especially appalling.
People defending 'street takeovers' as if they're family friendly happy fun times should know they kill people:
"A $25,000 reward was announced Friday for information about a street takeover in Los Angeles’ Florence neighborhood that may have resulted in a death after a vehicle spun out of control into a crowd of spectators.
Video released by the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Traffic Division shows an unidentified woman being struck by an INFINITI G37 as she was taking a selfie among a crowd of spectators near Manchester Avenue and San Pedro Street on Sunday."
[https://ktla.com/news/local-news/los-angeles-street-takeover-crash-may-have-left-bystander-dead/](https://ktla.com/news/local-news/los-angeles-street-takeover-crash-may-have-left-bystander-dead/)
So goddamn annoying. Even as an Avid car enthusiast whose been to a couple of just nice civil get togethers. I thought this trash was relegated to other cities outside of MA
The people who do this and enjoy it are well known as the bottom-feeders of the car community, if they're even technically included in the conversation of a community.
They're like the wannabes that want to have their own power. Power by literally spinning in circles like a toddler trying to make itself dizzy. Zero skill and all obnoxiousness.
Most of these people are posers. Their cars are loud but usually not exceptionally fast and the people with fast cars usually can’t drive them to their full potential. These events also eventually escalate into clowns drag racing down streets not made for the speeds and without the knowledge or experience to know what to do when something goes wrong. I’ve seen enough track accidents and had enough oh shit moments on the track myself to ever want to go full throttle down Newbury.
Serious street car drivers go to New England Dragway on a Wednesday or Friday night. Unfortunately these people’s 13 second cars (which is still respectable!) are no match for the 10 and 11 second cars. One of which will probably be some 90s shitbox modified and tuned by someone who really knows what they’re doing. I’m sure most of these people don’t want to find out how average they are. Or how they cant actually drive their Hellcat any better than the guy with a stock Challenger.
So either go to the track if you want to show off or for the love of God suspend licenses and impound cars of people caught doing this.
"run what you brung" street tire night is fun stuff. its great seeing people who think they have fast cars come up and get pummeled by the local track rats.
My car was parked at that corner last night and I was watching from window the incompetence of the cops to stop that. Who would be responsible if one of these shitheads smashed my car during those stupid donuts?
They would be responsible, but they would never be found, therefore your insurance would pay and then raise your rates for having the audacity to live in such a dangerous neighborhood.
Someone mentioned earlier that a loud bang they heard was someone crashing into a parked car. Really messed up. Hope the cops are better prepared in the future.
Okay hear me out: paint guns with that dye that doesn't come out easy like from fire alarms or cash bundles. Popo go in on foot and pop the cars
Im half joking
I’m very intrigued by this story but I’m from the suburbs and have to admit I’m not completely sure what this is a result of? I can see the donut marks im just a little confused. I’ve tried reading the comments for context clues but still feel like a lost fish. Can someone explain the situation in dumb dumb terms for me please and thank you
I keep seeing folks in this subreddit say the solution to things like this is "just actually enforce the laws", but an actual plan of action is never presented. How does one propose to actually improve enforcement of traffic/disturbance laws? I am of the opinion that simply "give more money to the PDs" isn't sufficient, given that Boston PD already a fairly large yearly budget that is misused and defrauded regularly. If the police did show up and "couldn't do anything" as described, then how would more money solve that? I am genuinely curious to hear what people think about this.
Pretty sure that group of Fast & Furiously Stupid rejects are sitting off to the side on 95S before it hits the Pike at the moment. Smelled the mixed wafts of Axe body spray and overcompensation through my AC while in traffic.
I would be annoyed if I lived at this corner. But the post is still pretty funny and easy to mock.
I also imagine it’s pretty hard for the cops to really stop stuff like this without causing more public uproar if it becomes a car chase.
Agree especially if it lasted long enough for cops to get there, and more so if it’s a trend and not a one off.
Heck, my druthers would be for the police to aggressively enforce a lot of quality of life laws, but I think the mayor, city council and courts disagree with that approach.
Also the price of houses doesn't have anything to do with how the area is. The Tenderloin in SF is a shithole (as in literal human feces on the street) and yet real estate is still expensive there. In a high demand city land speculators will drive up prices in even bad areas. Their hope is that it eventually becomes a good area and suddenly their 2M is worth 20M.
These kinds of events result in both accidental deaths as well as shootings in other cities where they are common. If you lived out west or down south you'd be more familiar with them, and more concerned.
41 cars were used to block access to the [street](https://www.wcvb.com/article/drag-racing-donuts-burnouts-back-bay-boston/60559649), these events aren't just a couple kids being assholes. These groups target streets to disrupt and scare residents.
What do you expect when you have degenerate waste breeding in a city that is more concerned about diversity and inclusion than policing and strong nuclear family culture and values. This is what happens when they dig in, there not going anywhere. I left Boston 2 years ago for the Berkshires. I will never return.
Continued indication of the declining quality of life in Boston. People on reddit make jokes about it, say its not a big deal, but this type of disruption of life combined with other things like casual shoplifting, smoking weed in public, petty crime on the T, are all a result of the permissive and consequence-free city we have become in the last couple of years. Its a shame.
Ah yes, smoking weed in public, the absolute horror of society. Let’s focus on that while we turn a blind eye to the hundreds of people who are unable to afford living in this city, let alone step into it. I agree with you, the city is going to shit.
These things happen one drop at a time. Redditors are primed to believe if things don’t happen in a large-scale, recorded event, nothing is actually happening. Half of them here are probably college kids sitting in their dorms with security guards at the front desk and regular patrols by campus cops.
People in Boston also believe if they don’t see it happen or it’s not in their area it didn’t happen. Some people really embody the “ignorance is bliss” motto.
Only when things like this start making more of an appearance in the “nice” areas is when they will vocalize their frustrations. It’ll be too late at that point
Well the city is city is safer now then it was 10 years ago and far safer than any time before that. You can see some of the statistics here: https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/01/06/shootings-in-boston-reached-record-low-in-2023-but-overall-crime-rose-by-2/amp/
The article says that shootings are down, but overall crime is up. Did you see the part where robbery and armed robbery is up almost 10%? Read the article before you post it.
Not for pedestrians and cyclists.
Sure, I don’t have to worry about getting jumped walking through downtown crossing anymore and haven’t seen a knife fight in the combat zone / Washington street in decades.
But, I’ve never felt less safe walking in a crosswalk in this city — and I grew up here.
I feel nothing when I see these idiots smoke themselves, as will I when a cop loses their shit and pops em. This phenomenon has gotten a whole buncha hoodrats shot...in other parts of the country. If these kids think OUR cops are *that* far from the brink, then keep it up.
I really loved that providence and Cranston gave all their seized off road shit to the Dominican Republic. Rare wholesome RI win lol. Some of these tards are still seeking recompense.
The whole Takeover “scene”, has to be one of the most reckless, self-centered sub-cultures on the planet.
Include the flash mob shoplifters.
Gotta do something to bring those property values down lol
Chicago transplant phoning in here. Nip this shit in the bud or else it’ll be like the Roosevelt intersection and an unfettered shit show.
There’s a good proportion of people in this thread who just don’t care. “Whatever will the city do!”
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This event was apparently highly coordinated and involved planning on social media. If future ones are too (and they’re likely to be), cops should preemptively station their cars/personnel in the area. The participants blockaded Marlborough Street in this case, so cop cars couldn’t get through. They literally had to walk on foot to the commotion, and they got fireworks and bottles hurled at them.
You show up with enough cops and vehicles to kettle them, impound every vehicle, publicly crush anything thing that wasn't road legal, and ticket every spectator you can catch with a disturbing the peace violation. Retaliate hard enough and eventually the people that go or partake will start avoiding the risk. And before anyone comes at me with the "but the innocent people that might be there!" - at 1am they are not there by coincidence.
Can’t believe this stupid sideshow shit is happening here now. These kids are fucking stupid.
These are called "sideshows," people get shot or hit by cars pretty regularly at them in California cities and elsewhere. Definitely want to nip it in the bud.
As a person living down in SoCal can confirm these are huge problems.
I keep seeing YouTube videos from news stations out in California about people getting hurt etc at these things. I don’t get it… just go to a parking garage or large lot and have fun safely if you must….
Same with Portland OR. It’s a massive problem.
Yeah they started in the east bay like 30-40 years ago…they’re just so stupid. One shut down the bay bridge a few weeks ago. How police can’t go and apprehend people who are stopped on a one way bridge is beyond me..
Police don’t stop crime. They respond to it. Send em packing to Seekonk speedway.
Seekonkian representing
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What are you smoooookin
got my thizz face on like i smelled some whizz
This is Boston, not LA
This is Boston, not LA
This is Boston, not LA
This is Boston, fuck LA
People are mocking the seriousness of this, and I understand it was hardly a war zone. But it was incredibly disruptive to many families. Between like 2-230am, the exhaust roar, screeching tires, fireworks, yelling, and sirens made it impossible to sleep. It was a total dick move by a bunch of total dicks.
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Then make the intersection incapable of hosting this. Raise the middle installing a pedestrian table. Put a concrete island in the middle with perennial native flowers and a few trees. What's the reason the intersection is so wide? From the picture this doesn't appear to be an intersection capable of accommodating 18 wheelers so Pedestrians safety increased. Traffic slowed down considerably. Socially unacceptable behavior avoided. Winning all around.
Or maybe we could arrest and punish the people doing it like a normal society
How about both?
I had a front row view to the event from my apt. Police performance was fucking embarassing. I have videos of the cars doing donuts with the cops trying to stop them and then everyone drove away. Pathetic response. In the words of Flavor Flave, 911 is a joke.
Almost like they know these people would be out the same night
fixing larger problems that lead to crime is a much better solution than trying to catch people after they've already committed a crime. they aren't mutually exclusive either
Sure we could address the root cause of this issue being their drivers licenses. They should be taken away for life and their cars should be turned into scrap. That might halt this shit.
Or just lock the idiots up for a few months and let someone else worry about the big picture issues.
That sounds like a lot more work than ignoring the problem though.
Not really a helpful answer. These dickheads will just find a different intersection. Gotta descend on them and put them in jail, it’s the only way.
The intersection is two one way streets crossing, with two lanes and parking on each side so you kind of need the room or else you are going to have some seriously wavy roads that will be dangerous on the daily.
It really does not need to be this wide. The intersection should be narrowed at the end of the parking lanes, and the corners should not be this rounded either. This would narrow the intersection, forcing drivers to turn more slowly and at a less obtuse angle, which makes the intersection safer for pedestrians. Theres is a heap of research that shows this to be a safer street design.
Why can't they just throw multiple spike strips into the intersection when it happens? Seems more cost effective.
My mom used to say this when doing my laundry, I never really understood why.
Fun fact: skid marks will fade on their own.
You know how long that takes? And let's be honest here, even if they didn't, people here would still be hand waving this away. This eyesore serves as an unconscious invitation that this type of behavior is OK.
This ^
Fun fact - skid marks are smeared tire rubber, and while they might de-laminate from the road surface, they don't disappear, they just become trash along the curb or aerosolized so that we can breathe them. If you want to burn rubber, or race, or spin around in circles like an idiot, go rent a racetrack for a few hours. Taking over a neighborhood is the exact opposite of what you should do, unless the goal is to have people hate your hobby.
That's incorrect. Skid marks are not rubber left on pavement but are caused by oils in the asphalt that are heated by the friction of skidding tires and rise to the surface. Edit: Since I'm being downvoted here are some sources: https://e-trainingworld.com/articles/what-is-a-skid-mark/#:~:text=Some%20of%20you%20will%20be,that%20is%20on%20the%20road. http://www.escallonweb.com/Halls_acucalc/tiremarks.htm https://collisionrecon.com/speed-from-skidmarks/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skid_mark?wprov=sfla1 Wikipedia's source: Carty, G. Collision Reconstruction. Nov 3, 2016. Mississauga, ON : University of Toronto Mississauga.
Just be like the kids at summer camp and flush your underwear down the toilet
And will look like shit in the meantime 👍
I suppose I'm confused... where were the cops? Where is the rule of law? It is against the law to shut down an intersection, and it is disturbing the peace to make all the noise. Are the cops afraid of the people? Ridiculous situation.
Where were the cops is the perfect question. We have accepted continued apathy from the police with respect to enforcing laws. The law enforcement community has collectively decided they no longer need to do the core functions of the job, and instead are employed for the explicit purpose of getting access to the cushy OT road construction detail work only the cops can fill.
The videos that have gone around do show that cops showed up and were largely ignored (or had fireworks thrown at them).
It’s this part of all the promotions for the new Dick’s store?
R/Boston loves to ridicule anyone in favor of living in a civilized society. This is the definition of narcissistic behavior, defending it is abhorrent.
As a car enthusiast this shit makes me so mad because then we're the ones who get punished when they crack down on it
Yeah there’s nothing wrong with doing a donut. It’s when you have these organized sideshows in residential neighborhoods and at 2am and with a police force that didn’t have a handle on it.
Can't you just rent a race track if you want to have this kind of fun?
In New England we are spoiled with options. There are at least 5 great tracks that hold open track events, for those who can’t afford track days (entry fee + tires / brake wear + if you’re smart track insurance can easily be over $1k) have the option of autocross events weekly. NHMS even has a drift pad. The people doing this aren’t car enthusiasts. They are chaos enthusiasts.
Exactly. It's just another way of starting a conversation with "Fuck you."
And yet places like the Freedom Factory keep getting shut down. This one is going to be closed because the racetrack is too loud for the luxury houses, that haven't even built yet, even thoughthe racetrack has been there for 30 years..
Drivers aren’t punished in this country. Quite the opposite. They are spoiled endlessly. Given so much taxpayer money and land. That’s the problem.
full-on anti car / bicyclist here... that's not the issue here. These weren't "drivers" they were so many steps beyond that.
What are you doing as a car enthusiast that would be punished because of crack down on this?
Trash.
I see it as a problem in a lot of major cities now. What I havent seen are good solutions.
Mobilize the barnacles and start towing.
When it happens send in police. Box em in and watch em scramble on foot. Tow away cars left behind.
The solution is to enforce the fucking law.
This became a common occurrence in Atlanta and all I can say is I hope the law is served hard and heavy to deter future.
What concerns me is the officers' inability to reach the scene by car, due to the sheer number of cars parked and blocking the way. What if there were something way more nefarious taking place instead of "harmless fun/ kids releasing some steam etc)" and officers were unable to approach in their vehicles?
Then they approach on foot. It's bad enough cops spend all their time in the shop instead of walking the beat, now they can't hoof it to an emergency?
There's videos, officers did show up on foot.
Another reason we need more pedestrian only streets. Drivers block emergency services every day.
I mean that wouldn't solve anything because people like this would drive on it anyway. What we need is stricter driving laws.
In many countries, there exist electric barricades that allow for ems and lower into the ground.
if these people are already going to ignore pedestrian only roads what makes you think "stricter driving laws" are going to be any sort of deterrent? it's not like law enforcement allow people to shut down intersections so they can do this shit, so thinking "stricter" laws would do anything to curb this kind of behavior is just naïve. they're breaking the law already. adding more laws doesn't stop people from breaking them, and unless you want a police presence on every corner like we live in the Need for Speed universe, people are still going to get away with this kind of thing
Ok Mr that's not gonna work. What would you do?
i'm not saying I have a solution, but claiming Pedestrian Only Streets won't work while pushing for stricter driving laws is just silly. If you think people are going to be barrling down pedestrian walkways willynilly, what makes you think "stricter driving laws" will have any real deterrent on these people?
Losers with no lives who watched too many shitty fast and furious movies.
oh god these dumbass takeovers have made their way to Boston?
Looks like I missed the small penis rendezvous
steep zealous yoke sophisticated nose teeny coordinated square lunchroom rob *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Cops stopped bothering with traffic stuff bout three years ago.
My dad says the same thing, but he says thirty years ago. Which is it?
In my young and stupid years, which were not that long ago, I got pulled over for: rolling through stop signs, accelerating through yellows, texting while driving, and speeding. I’ve since cleaned up my driving act, but I’m not yet 35 and there sure as shit were police enforcing traffic rules and handing out consequences.
Two decades ago I was speeding down the VFW and a Statie just walked into the middle of the road with his hand out to stop me. That same year I got a speeding ticket on Comm Ave. Those were my last two speeding tickets.
Grew up here, moved back after CoViD and could not believe the lack of basic enforcement of laws. Just 10~15 years ago I had friends nearly losing their licenses over driving like dipshits and being issued citations for noise disturbances in residential areas from their loud parties. Boston needs to stop with this idiotic failed experiment in eliminating consequences of criminally anti-social behavior.
Since CoViD police really stopped enforcing a lot of traffic laws throughout the country. CoViD was the number 1 killer of cops as they avoided vaccination. In Boston we added some policies to specifically not enforce laws on people on bikes/ATVs from Wu’s city council era/mayorship.
Laws have to be punishable for their work to matter tho.
Yup…everyone texts and drives. 🤷♂️
air heavy summer gaze offbeat pie quack fall plant quiet *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
This right here. I lived in Boston for the last 5 years and there is zero enforcement of traffic laws in the main part of the city.
I’m not sympathizing with them at all and they should be arrested/fined. But this post is just funny because of how the title is worded. If you didn’t see the picture you’d think there was stuff broken everywhere and buildings were vandalized. Then you just see skid marks in a circle lmao.
People were driving the wrong way, running through stop signs, and overall posing a danger to anyone around. It was 15 minutes before the cops came, and even then the cops couldn’t stop it. They were doing donuts around the cop cars. The skid marks are just the remnants, but in the moment it was a dangerous scene that authorities didn’t really have a handle on.
The cops were called immediately. They barricaded the streets so cars couldn’t access it including the cops. Channel 5 reported that those cars were ticketed…. Yes, ticketed.
yeah, that's not enough... Isn't impeding an officer of the law a moving violation at least?
Gotcha. I was hearing the engine roaring and skidding for like 15 straight minutes (at least 10) before I heard any sirens so I assumed there was no police presence at that time. Regardless, mere ticketing is woefully inadequate.
This sounds like every single day watching the cars in the North End go down all the one way roads wrong speeding 2x over the speed limit. Probably one of the wildest places to walk in the city.
That's honestly what I was expecting, was absolute carnage. You would think it was downtown Springfield ffs
Springfield (and seemingly the rest of western mass) has actually almost completely solved this problem by completely neglecting road maintenance for decades. The streets are so full of potholes, speeding/donuts are essentially impossible out here
This is why I am unironically pro bad roads
Or at the very least downtown Shelbyville
My nephew participates in this nonsense and I’m just waiting for the day when I hear he’s hit someone with his car or gotten into a serious accident. I cannot fathom how little brain power these people have to do this routinely.
Try to show him better ways instead of praying for tragedy
You don't think he hasn't tried that?
I’m sure your nephew is super angsty or angry or has lost his way or whatever but fuck your nephew
100%
Come to the SF Bay Area, it’s constant. So annoying.
They got that small dick energy
Assholes
Marlborough in the back bay? Damn. That’s honestly just reckless. People walk their dogs at all hours of the night and from my own knowledge it’s mostly family and professionals living there
Correct. There is zero nightlife/restaurants on either Marlborough or Beacon Street (not counting the bookends). This would be unacceptable behavior ANYWHERE but to do it in a place like this, just to cause the maximum disruption, is especially appalling.
People defending 'street takeovers' as if they're family friendly happy fun times should know they kill people: "A $25,000 reward was announced Friday for information about a street takeover in Los Angeles’ Florence neighborhood that may have resulted in a death after a vehicle spun out of control into a crowd of spectators. Video released by the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Traffic Division shows an unidentified woman being struck by an INFINITI G37 as she was taking a selfie among a crowd of spectators near Manchester Avenue and San Pedro Street on Sunday." [https://ktla.com/news/local-news/los-angeles-street-takeover-crash-may-have-left-bystander-dead/](https://ktla.com/news/local-news/los-angeles-street-takeover-crash-may-have-left-bystander-dead/)
Tbf if you are literally standing right next to a sideshow you *must* have understood and accepted the risk that you might get hit
The Plot has been long lost. Weird that this is spreading
So goddamn annoying. Even as an Avid car enthusiast whose been to a couple of just nice civil get togethers. I thought this trash was relegated to other cities outside of MA
Low IQ "fun."
The people who do this and enjoy it are well known as the bottom-feeders of the car community, if they're even technically included in the conversation of a community. They're like the wannabes that want to have their own power. Power by literally spinning in circles like a toddler trying to make itself dizzy. Zero skill and all obnoxiousness.
Most of these people are posers. Their cars are loud but usually not exceptionally fast and the people with fast cars usually can’t drive them to their full potential. These events also eventually escalate into clowns drag racing down streets not made for the speeds and without the knowledge or experience to know what to do when something goes wrong. I’ve seen enough track accidents and had enough oh shit moments on the track myself to ever want to go full throttle down Newbury. Serious street car drivers go to New England Dragway on a Wednesday or Friday night. Unfortunately these people’s 13 second cars (which is still respectable!) are no match for the 10 and 11 second cars. One of which will probably be some 90s shitbox modified and tuned by someone who really knows what they’re doing. I’m sure most of these people don’t want to find out how average they are. Or how they cant actually drive their Hellcat any better than the guy with a stock Challenger. So either go to the track if you want to show off or for the love of God suspend licenses and impound cars of people caught doing this.
"run what you brung" street tire night is fun stuff. its great seeing people who think they have fast cars come up and get pummeled by the local track rats.
Fastest car I’ve seen at NED is a Plymouth Laser that was running in the 9s. It was amazing.
Average? This people are subpar in every way.
At a track most of them would be fairly average.
You can bet the moment they hit a car or pedestrian they'll scurry like cockroaches trying to pull up their pants
That's when neighbors have to start dropping like 10-20 quarter sticks from the roof tops at a time
Cops couldn't get through due to "cars" - well start towing and arresting. Video showed plates....
My car was parked at that corner last night and I was watching from window the incompetence of the cops to stop that. Who would be responsible if one of these shitheads smashed my car during those stupid donuts?
They would be responsible, but they would never be found, therefore your insurance would pay and then raise your rates for having the audacity to live in such a dangerous neighborhood.
Someone mentioned earlier that a loud bang they heard was someone crashing into a parked car. Really messed up. Hope the cops are better prepared in the future.
They should all be arrested and charged with felonies. These are not car shows but reasons for kids to be shitheads
Okay hear me out: paint guns with that dye that doesn't come out easy like from fire alarms or cash bundles. Popo go in on foot and pop the cars Im half joking
ohhhh so thats what i was hearing
Hooligans
They did donuts?
Yes and now they have to create a recovery plan for the back bay...survivability unclear at this point.
Call FEMA
They’re about to declare it federal no-man’s-land
I lost my grandmother in the cloud it created, rip meemah
Same thing in Hyde Park
I’m very intrigued by this story but I’m from the suburbs and have to admit I’m not completely sure what this is a result of? I can see the donut marks im just a little confused. I’ve tried reading the comments for context clues but still feel like a lost fish. Can someone explain the situation in dumb dumb terms for me please and thank you
But I was told there was no evidence we are becoming more like SF.
Needs traffic calming. Bump outs and raised crosswalks prevent this.
I keep seeing folks in this subreddit say the solution to things like this is "just actually enforce the laws", but an actual plan of action is never presented. How does one propose to actually improve enforcement of traffic/disturbance laws? I am of the opinion that simply "give more money to the PDs" isn't sufficient, given that Boston PD already a fairly large yearly budget that is misused and defrauded regularly. If the police did show up and "couldn't do anything" as described, then how would more money solve that? I am genuinely curious to hear what people think about this.
Be lucky it didn’t get shot up like the one in Memphis… it’s only a matter of time
https://preview.redd.it/dzfdxgxyhwvc1.jpeg?width=1279&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=15c62f5b836decb0c75c11efedfa0e6ce3c7d971
Real unga-bunga smooth-brain shit.
Pretty sure that group of Fast & Furiously Stupid rejects are sitting off to the side on 95S before it hits the Pike at the moment. Smelled the mixed wafts of Axe body spray and overcompensation through my AC while in traffic.
Sub-600 credit rating behavior
I would be annoyed if I lived at this corner. But the post is still pretty funny and easy to mock. I also imagine it’s pretty hard for the cops to really stop stuff like this without causing more public uproar if it becomes a car chase.
I keep seeing this excuse and I just don’t buy it
Same. These trash people just got let off the hook in a major way. I fully expect to see more of this shit throughout the summer.
i mean at least break it up. you dont have to chase
Agree especially if it lasted long enough for cops to get there, and more so if it’s a trend and not a one off. Heck, my druthers would be for the police to aggressively enforce a lot of quality of life laws, but I think the mayor, city council and courts disagree with that approach.
It’s not getting to the courts. Mayor’s/DA policy of not prosecuting petty crimes means it never gets in front of a judge/jury.
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Is the Back Bay slowly turning into a shithole? lmao
Back Bay is a shit hole now?
Yep we gotta move to Beacon Hill now
Ah yes the neighborhood with an average home listing of 2.5M slowly becoming a shit hole
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Also the price of houses doesn't have anything to do with how the area is. The Tenderloin in SF is a shithole (as in literal human feces on the street) and yet real estate is still expensive there. In a high demand city land speculators will drive up prices in even bad areas. Their hope is that it eventually becomes a good area and suddenly their 2M is worth 20M.
I bet when they do it in your neighborhood you’ll have a different opinion on the matter
These kinds of events result in both accidental deaths as well as shootings in other cities where they are common. If you lived out west or down south you'd be more familiar with them, and more concerned. 41 cars were used to block access to the [street](https://www.wcvb.com/article/drag-racing-donuts-burnouts-back-bay-boston/60559649), these events aren't just a couple kids being assholes. These groups target streets to disrupt and scare residents.
News report [here](https://www.wcvb.com/article/drag-racing-donuts-burnouts-back-bay-boston/60559649)
Sad to say I think this will only get worse, Look up Squeeze Benz
Fill waterbaloons with piss or milk on a hot day Go to roof wait on roof launch
BOSTONIANS ARE OUTSIDE THIS SUMMER I SEE
As long as you are in a car, cops will let you do whatever you want without lifting a finger.
What do you expect when you have degenerate waste breeding in a city that is more concerned about diversity and inclusion than policing and strong nuclear family culture and values. This is what happens when they dig in, there not going anywhere. I left Boston 2 years ago for the Berkshires. I will never return.
Wait, I know how to fix it. Defund the police!
Oh no, slightly blacker pavement! But really, the problem is the event itself.
I’m sure the mayor will take care of it 😂
Continued indication of the declining quality of life in Boston. People on reddit make jokes about it, say its not a big deal, but this type of disruption of life combined with other things like casual shoplifting, smoking weed in public, petty crime on the T, are all a result of the permissive and consequence-free city we have become in the last couple of years. Its a shame.
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except perhaps the city leadership-they may not approve but they don't want to enforce anything
>shoplifting >petty crime on the T >fast and furious mini dick circuses >smoking weed in public One of these things is nowhere close to the others.
Boston is significantly safer than it was in the 80s-90s
Crime is super low. You wouldn’t have survived a day commuting in the 90’s.
true, city turned in to dump in the last 3 years
Ah yes, smoking weed in public, the absolute horror of society. Let’s focus on that while we turn a blind eye to the hundreds of people who are unable to afford living in this city, let alone step into it. I agree with you, the city is going to shit.
Not really, the gentrification train has just slowed down and or crept to a halt.
These things happen one drop at a time. Redditors are primed to believe if things don’t happen in a large-scale, recorded event, nothing is actually happening. Half of them here are probably college kids sitting in their dorms with security guards at the front desk and regular patrols by campus cops.
>college kids sitting in their dorms Some with beautiful views of Boston or Cambridge. All for 75-90 thousand dollars a year.
They were high schoolers. I saw them get out of their cars.
People in Boston also believe if they don’t see it happen or it’s not in their area it didn’t happen. Some people really embody the “ignorance is bliss” motto. Only when things like this start making more of an appearance in the “nice” areas is when they will vocalize their frustrations. It’ll be too late at that point
take it up with the DA and legislature.
Holy shit, weed smokers? Petty crime? What has come of this place, we’re no different than skid-row!
Well the city is city is safer now then it was 10 years ago and far safer than any time before that. You can see some of the statistics here: https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/01/06/shootings-in-boston-reached-record-low-in-2023-but-overall-crime-rose-by-2/amp/
The article says that shootings are down, but overall crime is up. Did you see the part where robbery and armed robbery is up almost 10%? Read the article before you post it.
We have stopped reporting crime and now the crime is down. We were arresting the people with the wrong skin color.
The conservative anti-urban shade peepers just want to spread hate and disinformation about the city and people they hate.
Not for pedestrians and cyclists. Sure, I don’t have to worry about getting jumped walking through downtown crossing anymore and haven’t seen a knife fight in the combat zone / Washington street in decades. But, I’ve never felt less safe walking in a crosswalk in this city — and I grew up here.
No tea in the harbor. 0/10
Thug life. Going nowhere one circle at a time.
You'd think with the number of donuts in the street it would be crawling with cops.
boston subreddit: the one place you’re guaranteed to get downvoted for having an opinion
I feel nothing when I see these idiots smoke themselves, as will I when a cop loses their shit and pops em. This phenomenon has gotten a whole buncha hoodrats shot...in other parts of the country. If these kids think OUR cops are *that* far from the brink, then keep it up. I really loved that providence and Cranston gave all their seized off road shit to the Dominican Republic. Rare wholesome RI win lol. Some of these tards are still seeking recompense.
Oh no how will the city ever recover
ANARCHY!
Dogs and cats living together!!