Here's the deal, hot rodders. While the recent internet obsession with Mustangs wrecking as they leave car shows is kind of humorous, it is a major problem for organizers, the community, and our hot rodding culture. Watch as this Pro Street Camaro proceeds to turn a lot of sweat, work, and money into misery, embarrassment, and twisted metal.

Of course, most readers won't end up like this guy—there are more than a few of you with common sense! But maybe some might be surprised to find out that a big-tired car doesn't handle oversteer well, though we're not. And it doesn't even have to be a blown, big-block-powered Camaro that gets loose. Obviously, almost any car is subject to uncontrollable oversteer in the hands of any driver. That's fine, that's what racing is for. Racing allows you to make mistakes in a controlled environment, where you have more room to catch yourself with safety teams watching your back if and when something happens, and it's where crashing is an accepted—if annoying—risk. Racing is perfect for showing off all of that horsepower.

However, on the street, this behavior does nothing for us. It sours our reputation with local law enforcement and businesses—guys and gals who, with our cooperation, are often happy to support cruise-ins like Cars and Coffee, and the countless number of other local cruise nights that meet every day of the week.

This means several cruise-ins have to move locations or have been entirely shut down by the lack thereof, after a wave of participants pull stunts like this and end up in crowds or opposing lanes of traffic. These events are often held for free, as property owners see this as an opportunity to also support the storefronts surrounding the meets with tons of paying customers. However, that condition is based on mutual respect for the local business and property owners. And while the costs associated with property rental and security can be offset through donations and other methods, who doesn't love free?

Additionally, no one likes it when local law enforcement gets mad at a group of hot rodders, and you can figure they don't enjoy answering these calls. Creating hot spots for negative police and hot rodder interaction, even in the form of traffic violations or minor crashes, hurts our rapport with law enforcement. In cooperation, local law enforcement is able to help an organizer with crowd control and safety; but in contest, we're shooting ourselves in our collective foot every time someone crashes their car leaving our local show.

And, honestly, we shouldn't have to get into the painfully obvious safety risks of cars hitting crowds or crossing into opposing lanes of traffic. We've reported on many street racing deaths over the years—we don't want to have report on a death at a cruise-in from this nonsense.

The general public does not fully understand our obsession with metal and horsepower—they only see the risks. Sadly, that quickly becomes a difficult battle to fight to protect our culture if cars keep ending up on crowds and curbs. When we work hard to stand as a positive force in the community, we're truly contributing to the greater good of hot rodding and car culture.

Most all of us can think of at least one or two cruise-ins that have had an effect on our lives. It's where like-minded hot rodders congregate. It's where children open their eyes to the love that is hot rodding, and it's where we can find friends in an ever-changing landscape of automotive culture. Simply put, it's one of the most grassroots aspects of car culture, starting with those iconic drive-ins in the early days.

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Do your hot rod a favor—hell, do everyone a favor—and don't crash your car leaving a meet. You can bet the owner of this Camaro is rethinking the last weekend's actions while shelling out the wallet for repairs; don't wait until then to make this decision.