Here in California that would likely be a misdemeanor (similar to a summary offense in Canada) of reckless driving or possibly illegal speed contest. (23103 and 23109 of the Vehicle Code, respectively.) I'm not sure but it could also result in a 30 day impound which means storage fees of about $1800 plus whatever comes out court. I'm not sure what DMV would do to the drivers but at minimum it would mean a rack of points.

I think JCL is accurate in his educated guess about the drivers. The young kids have parents who have money and send them for school. They have a distorted sense of car costs because where most of them come from, cars are at least double the cost for the same thing in Canada so even very expensive cars seem like a bargain. Plus, I'm sure they are trying to buy their kids' love and loyalty but that's just my dime story psycholoanalysis.

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