Car season has officially kicked off across most parts of North America that get winter, and it started with a bang in Toronto. Car meets can be great so long as everyone behaves, but it only takes one incident to turn even a formal show into a scourge.
Organized by BMW True North, this April 28 show was supposed to be a chill show on the ground of Toronto dealer Parkview BMW, but one BMW M4 owner ended up causing a bit of a scene by making contact with a light pole. Coincidentally, I drove by it on the way to fix a rattle on my 325i and that pole took a good chunk out out of the quarter panel. Of course, being a car meet, this incident was captured from a variety of angles, allowing us to review the scene in ultra-vision.
Let’s take a look at the footage that photographer sightlessvision has been able to capture and compile on Instagram, fronted by a rather humorous cover image:
View this post on Instagram
As sightlessvision describes the incident, having been at the scene and talked to those present:
From my understanding the driver did 2 pulls, once nothing happened and came around twice for another and the accident happened
Someone told me that there was a photographer taking pics and when he did a pull the first time he asked the photographer if he got a vid of it, the photographer said nah and the guy said I’m gonna do another one record it, ig that didn’t go as planned
Here’s a pro tip: if you hear the rev limiter and feel wheelspin while traveling in a straight line, slowly ease off the throttle and keep the steering wheel more or less straight. Just take things easy, be gentle, and you’ll be less likely to wrap your car around a pole.
Anyway, this M4 owner ended up with a lesson in physics, not to mention towing fees and possible charges. While it’s easy to poke fun at such an avoidable crash, the fact of the matter is that drivers who try to show off ruin car events for everyone else. If this behavior keeps up, don’t be surprised if events near you get closed down by the authorities, driving enthusiasts into the cover of private fora.
An extreme example is the city of Vaughan, located just northwest of Toronto. Car meets had grown so out of control up there that in March, the city enacted a ban on what it calls “car rallies” where people behave badly. As per the city:
The Special Events By-law 047-2024 (PDF) prohibits any participation in unauthorized car rallies, including:
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sponsoring, collecting money for, co-ordinating, advertising or hosting a car rally
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spectating, attending or bringing a vehicle to a car rally
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driving or riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle at a car rally
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stopping, slowing or impeding the movement of traffic, including pedestrian traffic, as a consequence of a car rally
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being a vendor at a car rally
For those caught at disruptive informal car meets, the penalties are stiff. Drivers of vehicles, even those behaving themselves, can be fined $1,000 Canadian on their first offense and $2,000 Canadian for subsequent offenses. Passengers and spectators can be fined $500, and “Any person emitting, causing or permitting sound or noise from a car rally” can be fined $1,000 Canadian on their first offense and $2,000 Canadian on subsequent offenses.
It’s not the first big clampdown in North America. Last year, NBC 5 reported that The Colony, Texas would no longer approve permits for certain car shows. As the news channel wrote, “The department sending popular promoters ParkUpFront notice TCPD will no longer approve permits for their monthly car shows, claiming criminal activity that has gone unchecked by the promoter.” Likewise, jurisdictions in California have been increasingly tough on takeovers, with fines or jail time being on the table for spectators of takeovers in San Jose. The kicker? According to the memorandum, “A spectator is present at a street racing event if they are within 200 feet of the location where the event is being held or where preparations are being made for it to begin.” If planning kicks off at a car show, spectators of the show may fall under this legislation.
Consider this a periodic reminder that if someone’s behaving badly, it’s best to correct that behavior before it becomes a larger issue for everyone. Don’t let the paradox of tolerance drag down entire communities. Beyond that, stay safe out there. Showing off while exiting a car event just isn’t worth it.
(Photo credits: Instagram/sightlessvision)
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amature drivers.. Low and slow…
The car gatherings I go to rarely have people doing burnouts upon departure. I was at one last year with a gaggle of youngsters at the exit holding their phones. It was an exotic focused show hosted at the the Mike Ward owned set of exotic car sales in the Denver area (McLaren and Lamborghini buildings, but there are more brands sold there). If faced with that if I’m in my GTO, I think I’m going to make a lot of noise, rev up, get attention like I’m gonna do something…then just slow walk it out.
Good advice in general, though I’m a bit surprised to see the paradox of tolerance brought up in this context.
I think another bit to mention here is that the attention is what most of these folks seek. Just tell them to knock it off, don’t record it, and certainly don’t give them video of this crap. If they get the attention they want and/or the video to get that attention online, they’ll do it again.
yea the photographers and spectators are a much bigger part of the problem then a lot of them probably want to admit, as much as they try to backtrack on what they think of the drivers after the fact.
This would all go away if these idiots realized one thing. No one’s impressed with your burnout.
Funny thing is, they are encouraging burnouts hoping you wreck in the process. Their only true desire is views on tiktok or instagram.
That might be totaled.
There is a tow truck driver out there who made a few bucks off of this idiot, so there is a small bit of silver lining.
Nice things, and why we cant have them.
Tell me you’re a douchebag without using either part of that compound word…
well, at least it wasn’t a Mustang
More like a M4ST4NG
The vast majority of crashes I have seen from people leaving meets have been BMWs, Nissans/Infinitis, and of course Mustangs. Also one Viper. To be fair though, most of the Mustangs I saw crash were AT Mustang Week where it is more likely.
How can someone afford to crash their car in this economy?
Looks like trust fund babies all around. Daddy will just buy him a new one.
He’s probably 5 months into an 84 month loan. This person is fucked.
On the plus side, the punishment for being this stupid is that 100 people will run towards you with their phones out to make sure the entire world knows you suck.
The perpetrators need to be able to feel shame and/or remorse for that to be any kind of punishment.
Good point.
Considering that’s right next to Sunnybrook Park, I think we found another rule or two to put on the sign.
https://media.blogto.com/articles/20220411-toronto-park-sign-bylaw.jpg?w=2048&cmd=resize_then_crop&height=1365&quality=70
Does he get extra drongo points for having a burble tune as well as more horsepower than skill
Coworker of mine supposedly put his F82 M4 into a pole in an empty parking lot.
I’d bet that the kid never paid for that car himself – and that his Dad took him to the new car dealer and ordered him a new one later that same week.
And yet even worse behaviors are instigated by the powers that be.
1.5psi! Digital tire gauge! And that kid is sitting on the damn escalator again!!!
Like Colt 45, 1.5psi gets ’em every time.
Kids should be conditioned to fear and respect the escalator!
I clicked for this reference and left satisfied.
I came for the same reason but was pleasantly surprised by the Mallrats reference!