I told u canadians...they want your cts

First they came for the imports, and I did not say anything because I do not drive a ricer. Then they came for the musclecars, and I stood quiet because my musclecar is long gone. Then they took away the exotics and again, it did not affect me directly why cause trouble? When the finally came for my CTS, there was no one left to come to my defense...

Based on the linked article, the implementation is a stretch and could violate Canadian law. A sensible interpretation, like the laws in California, is pretty extreme on the surface but when you are busted, you are busted. In California they crush your car if you are caught street racing or as xocomaox pointed out have stolen parts in your car. Both are pretty clear violations of the law and if you know the law is against you and you roll the dice anyway, you get what is coming to you. On the other hand, some people with highly modified cars do not race on the street instead taking them to the track for drag or drift competitions, so the Ontario crack down seems excessive.

Then the real question becomes, what is the definition of street racing? It sounds like Ontario is trying to outlaw stupid driving, which is admirable except for the fact that you cannot legislate out stupidity. Dumb people make dumb decisions and will continue to do so until the end of time. Increasing the punishment will not be much of a deterrent unless you attack the cause, not the symptom.

Yes, street racing kills people. So does drunk driving, driving while checking email or texting, driving while not paying attention because the driver is A) on the phone B) yelling at kids in the backseat C) generally irresponsible D) tired E) generally stupid...

Again, you cannot legislate against stupidity. I live in Texas and a friend of mine from high school was killed in the most gruesome fashion imaginable, as a passenger in a drunken street race. The driver lost control, my friend wasn't wearing his seatbelt, so he flew through the windshield when the vehicle hit a telephone pole and landed on a wrought iron fence where he bled out. Would stiffer penalties have stopped the driver of the pickup Jason was in from trying to race a Corvette? (No, I'm not kidding, even if it was a souped up hot rod pickup.) Jason was a great guy and a good friend, but he made the choice to ride along that night, and he and the driver both made the decision to drink. The fact that someone died seems a foregone conclusion to anyone with two brain cells to rub together, but that is the choice they made and stiffer penalties would not have curbed their decision making process. Thrill seekers are by definition not rational thinkers.

The proposed changes to Ontario law are cosmetic only, much like most legislative efforts aimed at curbing or preventing "bad" behavior. Idiots will be idiots regardless of the letter of the law. These laws are punitive against the minor offenders without dealing with the worst offenders because they are self eliminating, a lot like the poorly written drunk driving laws in the US. Most drunk driving fatalities result from drivers with blood alcohol levels (BAL) above .2 so to address the problem the BAL levels defining drunk from sober have been reduced from .1 to .08. Most people can blow a .08 after two drinks without a meal. Is that really addressing the core problem? No, but it makes it look like the legislators are trying to do something.

This kind of legislation demonizes and punishes a class of vehicle owner, not drivers. Case in point, a soccer-mom in a minivan runs down a jaywalker because she is changing DVD’s for the crying kids in the backseat vs. a teen in an import with a fart can who hits someone jaywalking, changing CD’s while driving next to another import with a fart can. Who’s getting the maximum punishment from the system as a reckless driver? Not the soccer mom because she does not fit the perceived model of a clear danger to society. Noooo! The irresponsible teen gets sent to “pound you in the a$$ prison” because they are a danger to society when soccer moms are more scary than ricer racers. At least with the ricers, you hear them from a mile away and know to look out.