Unauthorized Car Rally Results in Substantial Fines in Vaughan

York Regional Police has sustained its efforts in Operation Silent Night, aligning with the City of Vaughan’s bylaw revisions that forbid involvement in unauthorized car rallies.

Officers from #4 District and the Road Safety Bureau have actively patrolled areas traditionally prone to unauthorized car rallies. Since the enactment of the Vaughan bylaw amendments on March 26, 2024, the majority of rally organizers have complied.

On Thursday, May 23, 2024, members of the #4 District Community Oriented Response (COR) unit observed an unauthorized car rally gathering at a plaza near Rutherford Road and Islington Avenue.

Around 30 vehicles were spotted circling the parking lot, revving engines loudly, parking diagonally across multiple spots, and playing excessively loud music. Drivers engaged in stunts and tire squealing.

Officers recorded a total of 42 bylaw violations at this unauthorized rally, totaling $38,250 in fines. These fines will be sent by mail to the registered owners of the vehicles through the Administrative Monetary Penalty System.

York Regional Police continue to address the urgent issues stemming from the proliferation of illegal car rallies:

• Large, unauthorized rallies pose a public safety hazard due to reckless driving and vehicles with excessive noise levels. They also attract criminal elements to neighborhoods.
• Residents have expressed growing dissatisfaction as these gatherings disrupt neighborhoods and extend into late hours, causing disturbances.
• Participants endanger themselves and unsuspecting road users by engaging in dangerous driving, disobeying laws, performing stunts, and exhibiting a lack of regard for public safety.
• Onlookers often stand too close to these dangerous activities in an attempt to capture footage for social media, increasing the risk to themselves and others.