I was hooning around in a snowy parking lot for about a minute before a police officer showed up and he was not amused to say the least. I was hoping maybe he would do a few donuts of his own in his rwd CrownVic but he didn't. Is there anything actually illegal with this? Here in NJ, they could probably book you with "Driving in an Unsafe Manner". Has anyone ever been caught and if so what happened?
I got caught once here in NJ... was told to knock it off
Luckily I have never been caught in New Jersey.
Growing up in Northern Illinois, it was so common I thought it was required.
Just tell him you are trying to learn car control an be safe.
I told the officer I was trying to learn how to stop a sliding car. He told me to be careful and left.
Parking lots are usually private property aren't they? Police would have no jurisdiction unless the property owner complained.
I got stopped once in my old diplomat police car, cop was MAD; not much he could do though. Basically told me to knock it off and drive with due caution.
Grtechguy wrote: Parking lots are usually private property aren't they? Police would have no jurisdiction unless the property owner complained.
+1
JohnRW1621 wrote:Grtechguy wrote: Parking lots are usually private property aren't they? Police would have no jurisdiction unless the property owner complained.+1
But they are a public way as well, cop could be a dick and write you up but most well just give you the look and talk... Years ago when mall were closed on Sundays we all went there to play even with tow ropes and "Ski an Skates" on are feet....
Ski an Skates were short alum skis like snow shoes but formed alum 100% with ribs and straps to hold you feet in. more like bread loaf pans
I've noticed signs in some shopping center parking lots that the parking lot is under the jurisdiction of such-and-such police department. I guess this means the company that owns the shopping center has made arrangements that give the local police the right to enforcement without the property owner having to call in a complaint. I would avoid lots with similar signs in hoonage attacks.
Grtechguy wrote: Parking lots are usually private property aren't they? Police would have no jurisdiction unless the property owner complained.
But you can still break the law. There are certain things that the police have jurisdiction. Depends on who owns the lot also. Private business, maybe not. shopping center, yes.
At the first snow fall, I always tell my students to go and find an empty parking lot, make your car slide, and learn how to control it.
WHEN the police show up, politely explain what you are doing, maybe even mention that your highschool shop teacher suggested it. If they ask you leave, do so maturely.
Whether it is private property or not, if you collide with something or hit a person, you are still liable and it then becomes their problem. In everything, be respectful. It's amazing how much stuff you can get away with if you are polite and respectful.
I once got broadsided in a parking lot by a silly woman in a mini van who turned around to yell at her kids. Because it was on private property, she wasn't charged. Cops said that the only way they could lay any charges, is if she had been drinking.
My brother got a ticket for it a few years back. Small city with bored cops, I guess.
Bryce
Only time i've ever been stopped for it was by rent-a-cops on mall property. I don't honestly know that the cops ever saw me hoon.
When I was in points reduction school 20 years ago the Wis. State Patrol Captain that taught it said if the public can access the lot then it is illegal and you can get a ticket for "unsafe driving". He said it is a catch-all category ticket that Staties can use pretty much as they see fit. Remember w/ most cops attitude is every thing so be an ass and get a ticket,or maybe be respectful and contrite and get a stern talking to. My experience ranges from a red-faced woman cop in Richmond IN. that acted like I just tickled her with a Tazer (gun drawn, ordered from car, made to lay face down, and got 2 tickets, speeding and failure to control vehicle) to a slow drive-by made by my local Barnie Fife equivalent.
YMMV
never heard of the word "hoon" but yes, I've seen local ordinances where typical traffic rules apply to public parking lots. Sorry
Grtechguy wrote: Parking lots are usually private property aren't they? Police would have no jurisdiction unless the property owner complained.
I would think private property therefore equals trespassing? I haven't done this in a very long time, and this time around it seemed all the lots around me were cleared fairly quick anyway. (I practiced a very long time ago in upstate NY when I was stationed there, in my first car, a '77 Pontiac Grand Prix. If you weren't into horses, there was nothing else to do there in 1987.)
I'm sure officer shiny happy person can find something to charge you with, which is pretty much true for anything. So don't be a dick if you get caught and odds are you'll be ok.
In reply to Mmadness:
It was in 1977.
never do it when you see cops around? that keeps me out of trouble. i was 4 wheel drifting the big 4x4 suburban in the home depot parking lot a couple weeks ago. that stuff is fun right there.
Cop stops a guy in a mall lot for no seat belt. You can debate, discuss or lament with a cop; can't argue. Kid pops out of the car telling the cop it's private property and he has no juristiction etc.
Didn't end well.
When at 16 my son pulled in the driveway with the BarbieMobile, (a pinkish 4WD Bronco II); he and his buddy Dino looked all sheepish as I was standing in the middle of the driveway.
"Hey, gonna spin it up in a parking lot, turn the headlights off. Looks like a UFO landing. You're busted."
Do it again and I tell Mom.
Mmadness, lets assume the State of NY, Florida, Oklahoma etc. issued you a license to drive in that State. You have to play by their rules. Hooning it up in the snow may not be allowed, private property or not, you're driving. You're probably wrong, but be polite, explain you stuff and hope to walk.
Dan
At least here in MI, parking lots are specifically included in the careless and reckless driving statutes, as well the drunk driving statutes. Whether the police would care if there was no one around may be another matter, but you'd be at the mercy of whatever kind of day the responding officer happens to be having.
Let me see, hooning equals fun so therefore it is illegal.
OK, just joking you guys, damn fun police.
The police in winnipeg have a few hot spots for catching speeders. One of them is after an underpass where it is very hard not to speed up. Fortunately it is right next to my union hall where I work. I pull in every morning and turn on my high beams and start cutting donuts right in front of them. When I am done I park my truck with the high beams on and shut everything down with the lights aimed at the police car. Right about the time they think I am done I use my command start and the high beams shine directly in to their side windows. Sorry I dont like entrapment areas, and no I have never been caught here, but many have and they are not hazards to society.
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