It's a perfect night to street race.
The weather is clear and dry. The warm day has given way to a cool evening, which will enhance the performance of cars built for speed.
By dark, dozens of vehicles have gathered in the most Canadian of locales: outside a Tim Hortons at Dundas St. W. and Highway 403 in Oakville. Among them are freshly painted Honda Civics and late model Nissans hovering just millimetres off the ground, motorbikes with back licence plates tucked up under their seats, out of view, and cars that look like they're on loan from mom and dad's driveway.
"This is where guys come to show off," says a man in his 20s who, like others gathered in the parking lot last Thursday refused to give his name. But police say that among about 250 car enthusiasts who gather here on summer nights, many are street racers who put themselves – and other drivers – at risk. Bolstering their case is evidence on the streets of a light industrial area nearby: sets of skid marks and debris from a blown engine.
So, on this night, Halton Regional police are running Project ERASE (Eliminate Racing Activity on Streets Everywhere). A long-established task force of 18 police forces and the ministry of transportation, it targets street racing and aggressive drivers with blitzes.
The aim is to make street racing as socially unacceptable as drinking and driving. It comes on the heels of a recent accidents involving alleged street racers in the Toronto area.
Street racing is blamed in the deaths of 38 people in the GTA since 1999, including the June 18 death of David Virgoe, who rolled his truck into a ditch as he tried to avoid two cars allegedly racing on Highway 400 south of Bradford.
"We're just trying to send a message," said Const. Tom Doherty, a Burlington cop who spends the night in an unmarked cruiser nabbing speeders, pulling over bikers with plates hidden, and generally showing the police's presence.
"We just want to let them know that we know you're out here and we're not going to tolerate it," Doherty said. "You can either go further underground or obey the law."
But those gathered in the parking lot, said it's about harassment.
"I've (gotten) tickets just flowing along with the rest of the traffic," said one man standing near his Nissan. "I'll get pulled over because I'm 21 and I've got an exhaust system."
"If you're caught street racing, they should throw the book at you, crush your car," said his buddy, referring to threats from Attorney General Michael Bryant last month after Virgoe's death. "But to say because I've spent money to customize my car I'm a criminal, is nuts."
Another young man said he was hoping for more "creative solutions." At the top of the list: a track to race legally. The only option for that right now is Cayuga, a speedway outside Hamilton.
"They could make money on the track and reduce our taxes," he said. "But the only solution they have is blitzes and handing out tickets."