'They will be held accountable': Winnipeg police cracking down on stunt driving

Crackdown on some cruise nights participants Danton Unger reports on why Winnipeg police are cracking down on some cruise night enthusiasts

Winnipeg police are working to crack down on dangerous driving and stunt driving throughout the city.

Insp. Max Waddell said Project Stunt Driving was launched in the spring following numerous complaints from residents and businesses about excessive noise and careless driving.

During a news conference Wednesday, police showed surveillance video of drivers travelling at high rates of speed, and performing dangerous driving tricks in parking lots. The individuals have not been identified.

Coun. Evan Duncan, who represents Charleswood, Tuxedo, and Westwood, said he receives calls daily from residents in his ward due to the influx of vehicles on cruise night on the weekends.

"Let's make one thing clear; it's not all cruise night goers. It's the idiots that sit in the parking lots along Portage Avenue that are revving their engines, that are ripping down Portage Avenue, that don't care about anything but their cars or themselves," he said. "These people are making life miserable for residents in Winnipeg."

Between May 15 and Sept. 6, police received 37 calls for service for street racing, squealing tires, and dangerous driving in surface parking lots.

Incidents include vehicles taunting and surrounding a security vehicle, a motorcyclist travelling at 189 km/h down the Southwest Rapid Transit Closure and a person laying on the hood of a vehicle going 120 km/h.

Waddell said police conducted a traffic safety checkpoint on Sept. 7, after 88 vehicles were gathered in the RM of Rosser committing highway traffic infractions that were caught on camera. Sixty-five provincial offence notices were issued, including for making unnecessary smoke, making unnecessary noise, driving while disqualified, and driving carelessly.

"We hope this enforcement initiative will remind those who engage in reckless driving behaviour that they will be held accountable," he said.

Waddell said so far in 2024, there have been 22 fatal motor vehicle collisions.

Waddell said the goal of this crackdown was to ensure people stay safe.

"I hope that, through these videos, we've educated people that if you're participating in riding on a car hood or driving 189 kilometres on a motorcycle, it's probably not a good idea. Somebody is going to get hurt," he said.

'It gives the car community a bad name'

One Winnipeg club is fed up with reckless drivers ruining the hobby.

Evan Page, organizer of 204 Cruise Collective, started his club for Sunday night cruisers after a long-running meetup in Westwood was shut down earlier this year.

"All it took was one person who was intoxicated, and they side-swiped four or five vehicles and just like that, they banned the area. They closed it off," he said.

Page said events like this result in a negative perception of car clubs around the city.

"It gives the car community a bad name because people think that we're dangerous,” he said.

Page said there is a clear set of rules at the new meets, and it's up to members to follow them to keep the meetings going.

"We just want to be able to continue having these meets," he said. "We can't do it if people like that make a bad name for the community, so it really is up to us to get after each other."

- With files from CTV’s Danton Unger.