It’s time for law enforcement to bring sideshows to a halt

QSince sideshows are in the news these days, how about a column on them.

Ask readers for ideas on what should be done to stop them. My thought is that the police should arrive en masse, surround the area, close all escape routes, and arrest everyone inside. Any cars that involved should be seized and subsequently confiscated and destroyed.

Videos of cars that were seized being crushed at junkyards should be widely released. If that was done just once, word would spread far and wide and that would put an end to it.

— Paul Jacobs,

Saratoga

A I’m open to suggestions for a problem that has grown significantly worse over recent months, according to San Jose officials, as well as in Oakland and San Francisco. Organized racing and sideshows are growing to involve hundreds of cars, and becoming more violent, requiring massive police responses.

Over the weekend of Jan. 29, a sideshow of over 500 vehicles took place near Communications Hill in San Jose, and there were others that weekend throughout the city. Participants attacked responding officers, including ramming a police car and discharging firearms. Police impounded seven vehicles, issued 40 citations and made four arrests.

Two weeks later, another sideshow of hundreds of vehicles took place at Hamilton and Leigh avenues, with more attacks and violence toward police. Over 100 shell casings were recovered from gunfire at that one intersection alone. Police impounded four vehicles and issued 45 citations.

What is the solution? The city intends to set up physical barriers in at least five popular sideshow intersections, and may create a full-time racing enforcement unit.

But here is another approach being considered. The Washington Post has reported that plate readers have been useful in tracking down rioters in the Jan. 6 attack on Congress, and the hope is that this tool would be effective in identifying and prosecuting sideshow participants, as well.

Q I work at Apple in Cupertino and live in Dublin. I drive to work on 580, 680 and 880. I am 77, drive a Camaro and am what I consider pretty young at heart.

My question is what to do when you see a vehicle driving at approximately 100 mph, endangering law-abiding drivers like myself. They go by so fast I can’t even tell what kinds of cars they are. What is your recommendation? I see this almost every night. — Roger Varon, Dublin

A Dial 911.

Q Will there ever be ramp connections from San Tomas Expressway to Interstate 280? It’s incredulous that there is no interchange there.

— Ron Pippen, San Jose

A An interchange is getting some mention, but nothing is likely anytime soon.