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0 pointsdylan6044mo ago0 comments

> I genuinely wonder what the cause of this behavior is.

Seriously? It's from people not wanting to be arrested and go to jail. If they get away, perfect. If they don't, well, they were going to jail anyways. Now they have a cool story to tell while in jail. These are not people getting pulled over because they rolled a stop sign. These are people doing dirt, know it, and are willing to try something to avoid getting caught. It's really not complicated

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zimpenfish4mo ago

> These are not people getting pulled over because they rolled a stop sign.

Although if you watched "Last Week Tonight" recently (S12 E28, 2025-11-02), Mr Oliver's long segment is about police chases and IIRC he covered more than a couple of cases where people were, in fact, being pulled over / chased for trivial matters which then lead to crashes, deaths, etc.

closeparen4mo ago

These are trivial matters in that the penalties are minor, not that they are optional.

dns_snek4mo ago

Of course they're not optional, but you shouldn't be starting a high speed pursuit over a seat belt violation, or for someone going 5 over the speed limit. Principle of proportionality should apply, you shouldn't be risking the lives of the public over anything but the most serious offences where them getting away poses a greater threat to the public than potentially killing a bystander.

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samdoesnothing4mo ago

I think they're asking why there's such a large population of people willing to commit crimes and then get into high speed chases.

dylan604OP4mo ago

The cause of the behavior (as phrased when asked) is not wanting to go to jail. Asking why people are in situations where they are committing crimes that could land them in jail is a totally different question. Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction.

closeparen4mo ago

Stealing cars (often at gunpoint) and driving them recklessly is an entertainment activity for young men with poor impulse control and little regard for human life. This kind of person makes decisions of comparable quality elsewhere in life that are probably incompatible with being middle class.

bigfatkitten4mo ago

> Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction.

The latter is often a result of the former. People self-medicating to escape misery.

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lukan4mo ago

"Asking why people are in situations where they are committing crimes that could land them in jail is a totally different question. Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction."

Can't we just blame GTA?

samdoesnothing4mo ago

Are you suggesting criminals in other cities and countries do want to go to jail? Like, the reason there aren't high speed chases in Amsterdam is because Amsterdesian criminals actually enjoy life in the clink?

wredcoll4mo ago

Except that people around the world generally don't want to go to prison, so why do americans have more high speed chases?

(assuming they do in fact have more per capita/car...)

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Aurornis4mo ago

The population in big US cities is very heterogeneous. There isn’t one single culture.

In a city with large population, it only takes a few people willing to commit crimes to make the news.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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zimpenfish4mo ago

> These are not people getting pulled over because they rolled a stop sign.

closeparen4mo ago

These are trivial matters in that the penalties are minor, not that they are optional.

dns_snek4mo ago

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samdoesnothing4mo ago

I think they're asking why there's such a large population of people willing to commit crimes and then get into high speed chases.

dylan604OP4mo ago

closeparen4mo ago

bigfatkitten4mo ago

> Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction.

The latter is often a result of the former. People self-medicating to escape misery.

1 more reply

lukan4mo ago

"Asking why people are in situations where they are committing crimes that could land them in jail is a totally different question. Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction."

Can't we just blame GTA?

samdoesnothing4mo ago

wredcoll4mo ago

Except that people around the world generally don't want to go to prison, so why do americans have more high speed chases?

(assuming they do in fact have more per capita/car...)

5 more replies

Aurornis4mo ago

The population in big US cities is very heterogeneous. There isn’t one single culture.

In a city with large population, it only takes a few people willing to commit crimes to make the news.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse