Street takeovers, otherwise known as “sideshows,” are a cultural phenomenon that exploded in popularity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’ve been anywhere near car culture in the past six or so years, you’ve probably seen videos of street takeovers, where a handful of cars commandeer a public intersection or roadway to do donuts while crowds of onlookers watch and film with their phones.
These actions are obviously illegal and very dangerous, and often get out of hand quickly. There are countless videos online from these events where cars lose control and hit each other, strike public or private property, or barrel into crowds, which are sometimes standing just inches from the bumpers of drifting cars. Some takeovers get so out of hand that the crowds wind up just burning cars to the ground.
Despite some states implementing new laws and forming task forces specifically to combat sideshows, these events remain prevalent across the country, representing the absolute worst part of car culture. [Ed note: Is it even “car culture”? Yes, it’s a culture that includes cars, but do these clowns even like anything in car culture that isn’t this nonsense? – Pete] Going by the actions of this latest street takeover in Maryland, it seems the crowds aren’t even afraid of the police anymore.
Back in 2020, when I first started getting takeover-related content on my social media feeds, it felt like people actually gave a shit when the police appeared to break up the crowd. Once the flashing lights illuminated in the distance, people made a break for it, and the cars participating immediately stopped and found the nearest open roadway to escape.
This became doubly true once task forces in places like California began to stage coordinated mass arrests of drivers and the crowds surrounding intersections. I’ll be the first to admit it was incredibly satisfying to see the people encouraging this type of driving backed into a corner and forced to face the consequences of their actions.
Sideshows make car culture look bad! If you love cars and the act of driving, you should be against this kind of stuff, even if it is fun to see V8-powered muscle cars melt some rubber on a quiet street in the middle of the night. There are plenty of places where you can legally do this type of performative driving, so you have options that don’t involve the rest of the car world hating your guts.
They’re Getting Even More Brazen
Despite all the heightened awareness from law enforcement, sideshows remain a scourge that car culture in America can’t seem to get rid of. This past weekend, a takeover in Montgomery County, Maryland ended with two cop cars getting vandalized by crowds.
The incident began early Sunday morning, when police started tracking cars as they began swinging their tail ends through an intersection. Instead of fleeing when they saw the blue and red lights, onlookers went on the offensive. From the Montgomery County police department:
The vehicles continued along East West Highway and gathered at the intersection of East West Highway and Connecticut Avenue. Drivers blocked traffic and performed donuts in the roadway.
Several people got out of their cars and stood in the intersection, preventing officers from entering while the activity continued.
During the incident, two marked Montgomery County Police cruisers were damaged. In one case, an officer was inside his vehicle when the rear window was broken and the windshield was smashed. No officers were injured.
Dashcam video from inside one of the cruisers, published to YouTube, shows members of the crowd attempting to block the vehicle, while also setting off smoke-producing devices. As the cop tries to maneuver their vehicle through the situation, you can hear glass shattering at 40 seconds in, presumably from when that rear window was smashed in. At 2 minutes, 32 seconds, you can see the windshield get struck.
While this is all happening, you can see a Dodge Challenger continuing to perform donuts and burnouts in front of the police car. Later in the video, the crowd continues to block the cop as other cars in the vicinity flee.
This video is dumb for a lot of reasons, but mainly because if you’re doing something as illegal as participating in a street takeover, you should at least have the wherewithal to flee when the cops show up. Instead, these people are crazy enough not only to stay at the scene but to break the law further by impeding the cops and assaulting their vehicles. Some of them don’t even have masks covering their face, meaning they’re going to be easy to identify.
Cops say they’re currently asking the public for help to track down the identities of everyone involved, and offering rewards ranging from $250 to $10,000 for tips leading to arrests. Personally, I’d be very happy if everyone involved went to jail. It’s this type of stuff that gives gearheads a bad rap.
Top graphic images: Montgomery County Police Department
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