MONTAGUE — Last Thursday, April 25, White Lake community members were shocked by a letter sent out to Montague business owners regarding this year’s Cruz’In. The classic car event has always been a “parade” in the past, but the Cruz’In committee decided this year to make it a parked car show. The committee cited in the letter that the change is due to growing public safety concerns with reckless drivers and numerous complaints about the no-burnout rule being constantly broken.
A Whitehall city source who requested anonymity said drivers believe they are in control of their cars when they do burnouts, but they are not. Burnouts have the potential to cause the car to fishtail, which increases the likelihood of an accident and are classified as careless driving. The source shared that last year, one individual who was technically not a part of the parade did a burnout as they were leaving a local park. It was an old truck, which technically did not fit the rules of Cruz’In, and the passenger was holding an infant who was not in a carrier.
“It’s gotten worse and worse, people’s blatant disregard for the rule to not do burnouts,” the source said. “We don’t have the staffing to address it as it is occurring. The drivers do spinouts not perceiving that something could go wrong - that ‘it’s not going to happen here’ mentality. But it happens everywhere, and it happens in small towns just like this, it happens in big cities. It’s gotten to a point where we can’t control it and we have to take some action.”
Cruz’In has been a beloved tradition in White Lake since it started in 1995, and the committee is facing some criticism for the decision. Hundreds flocked to the Cruz’In Facebook page and the original letter, posted on Facebook by community member Peggy Clauss, to voice their frustration and disappointment.
One community member, Lorrie Lauterberg Matthews, said in the Cruz’In comments that she will no longer be able to attend due to disability and the new parked car show prohibiting her access. Many have said they will not attend because of the change and claimed the decrease in participation will negatively affect local businesses. Some community members have voiced new safety concerns, fearing retaliation and that others would do burnouts in regular traffic instead.
Others have made suggestions they think would help relieve some of the safety concerns, rather than changing the event. Community member Mary Mansfield suggested making it a “registration-only” event, which would ensure all participants directly receive a copy of the rules. Another community member, Dylan Zuniga, suggested imposing a fine or a ban if participants break the rules. He also cited frustrations for people with disabilities having trouble navigating the crowded streets.
The frustration sparked a digital petition, started by Kevin Strait. At press time, the petition was at 949 signatures with a new goal of 1,000.
The Whitehall source said the city does not have the amount of officers that would allow them to punish rule breakers as violations occur.
“I appreciate that people enjoy the parade, but there are even participants in the parade who have complained to us about this,” the source said. “The burnouts cause flecks of hot rubber on their cars they spend time and money on. We haven’t had an incident in all these years, but it’s only going to take one that could turn a community tradition into a community tragedy, and we just don’t want to take that chance.”
