[VIDÉO] young fools zigzag at high speed on the highways of Quebec

More and more young Quebec drivers are gambling with their lives and those of others by racing at high speeds in traffic and zigzagging between cars.

This dangerous activity, called white liningtakes its name from a maneuver which consists of moving quickly from one white line to another. It was first observed in the United States, Mexico and Western Canada.

“It’s an emerging phenomenon here in Quebec, we see it more and more on our highways,” worries Sûreté du Québec (SQ) sergeant André Belletête, who leads operations to tackle the white lining.

“We have no choice but to detect and intercept these types of behaviors. It’s dangerous, it can cause accidents,” he insists.

Social networks

Some will also taunt the police on the highway to try to provoke chases by fleeing at speeds that can exceed 200 km/h.

The show JE presented this evening at 8 p.m. on the TVA network lifts the veil on this dangerous practice.

In search of notoriety, fans will often film their “exploits” and put the images on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

In Quebec, there are hundreds of publications on the White Line Montreal Instagram account, which has more than 24,000 subscribers.

Poorly dissuasive penalties

“These are mainly male drivers aged 18 to 30 who will drive high-performance, often modified vehicles,” observes Captain Francis Bernardin, of the SQ,

Captain Bernardin notes that followers have a certain form of non-compliance with the legislative framework and have the impression that their behavior will not be punished by law, because the penalties are not very dissuasive.

This is why the Sûreté du Québec is now organizing special operations on highways to target and intercept followers (see other text).

“A small mistake could cost me my life”

A follower of white liningwho agreed to tell us what happens in this very closed environment, affirms that he does this primarily for pleasure and for the adrenaline.

“It’s an activity I love doing; you drive a little more normally then in places where there is less traffic, you pass between the tanks at high speeds,” describes this reckless young man.

In an interview that he granted on condition that his identity not be revealed, he claims to have already zigzagged at 240 km/h between vehicles on a highway.

When asked if he was scared, he replied that that’s what gives him the adrenaline. “If you’re not afraid, what’s the point?” he asks.

He recounts his experience at such speeds: “You really need to know the vehicle, know when to “shift” [embrayer]line up, get out of line. With experience, you can increase speeds and try new things.”

A risk for everyone

This dangerous driver says he is aware of the risks that the white lining represent for him and for others. “That’s adrenaline, there’s a danger for me and for others. A small mistake could cost me my life, or the life of another. I think about it in one way by saying to myself as long as I have control of the vehicle, nothing will happen, because I have experience with that.

He affirms that the majority of fans who publish their videos on social networks are looking for recognition and above all to have the greatest number of views possible.

This allows them, among other things, to sell more mechanisms to hide the license plate so as not to be caught by the police. “You sell this and you publish saying it works, I escaped from the police, buy this,” he describes.

The young man has no intention of stopping doing white lining unless he was intercepted by the police, which never happened.

An eventful evening

A JE team had exclusive access to a white lining operation carried out by the Sûreté du Québec last August on the highways of the island of Montreal.

That evening, the police expected to catch several followers of this dangerous practice… and that is what happened.

During this operation, which lasted six hours, officers handed out 19 tickets totaling nearly $10,000 in fines and around sixty demerit points.

1) The patrol officers first intercept an Audi SUV which overtakes several times while zigzagging on the Décarie highway. Such a practice represents a danger for others, Sergeant André Belletête tells us. “It could cause an accident,” he warns.

2) Patrol officers are pursuing a vehicle which is zigzagging dangerously on the Metropolitan Expressway and refusing to stop. The driver will later be charged with hit and run, dangerous driving and obstructing the work of police officers.

3) We are driving with an unidentified vehicle on the Metropolitan highway. Five vehicles are white lining in front of us. Two of them are racing in traffic. The others zigzag to catch up. The police film their license plates and the faces of the drivers with cell phones before intercepting four of them. In addition to fines, these drivers have their driving licenses suspended for seven days.

4) A few minutes later, still on the Metropolitan highway, we see two BMW drivers who are also white lining. This time, the police take images of them and do not intercept them since traffic is heavy in this area. They will receive their ticket by mail.

5) On Highway 40, patrol officers detect with their radar a Tesla zigzagging and driving at nearly 150 km/h and accelerating to more than 200 km/h, before leaving the expressway and disappearing into a neighborhood residential. The vehicle was quickly located. The driver was arrested and charged with hit-and-run, obstructing the work of police officers and dangerous driving. He will receive a fine of $3,190 and 22 demerit points.

6) Patrol officers intercept a vehicle with a stolen license plate near the place where white lining supporters had gathered. One of the men has a handgun in his possession. He was arrested for possession of a weapon, obstructing police work and receiving stolen license plate.