In advance of the Langley Good Times Cruise-In, organizers are warning that anyone caught doing burnouts is facing a permanent ban from the popular car show.
“The Cruise-In doesn’t condone any burnouts or any stunting of that sort, that’s for sure,” said society president Riccardo Sestito.
The car show, which has long cultivated a family-friendly atmosphere and a good relationship with local civic authorities and the Langley RCMP, has never had organized burnouts, in which cars spin their tires and generate huge clouds of smoke.
In the early 2010s, there were a number of burnouts and cars doing doughnuts on open streets in downtown Langley City the night before Cruise-In. The Langley RCMP responded by increasing their patrols and clamping down on the practice, which ended in Langley for several years.
However, last year there were multiple incidents again as drivers gathered on Industrial Avenue east of 200th Street. The RCMP eventually barricaded the street to keep order.
An RCMP spokesperson at the time said police would also look into expanding enforcement for this year.
The Cruise-In moved to Aldergrove several years ago, but the gatherings continued to take place mostly in Langley City.
In addition to the illegal stunting incidents, there are also a larger number of drivers who take part in informal, but legal activities the night before Cruise-In. For the most part, that means driving around Langley, especially in the City’s downtown core, showing off their vehicles, in the early evening just before dusk.
Many locals put out lawn chairs on the sidewalk to watch the custom and classic cars go by on Fraser Highway.
The Cruise-In has no official events running on Friday night this year, Sestito said.
“We are always in conversation with the RCMP with regards to what’s happening on Friday night,” Sestito said.
That extends to Saturday as well, for activities in and around the official car show.
Anyone caught doing a burnout or other stunt can be banned from the show.
“You’re gone,” Sestito said. “You won’t come back to the show.”
Organizers have taken down plate numbers and have a small “naughty list” of drivers who are banned, he added.
Sestito notes that Cruise-In is sometimes event linked to events that have nothing to do with it, including street racing and burnouts at Campbell Heights in South Surrey, which saw police impound six cars earlier this summer during an RCMP crackdown.
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