Teenage Cruising Main Street: A Lost Pastime.....

[DoctorZ]

It's now illegal in all 50 States, but from the 1950's thru the 1990's Teenagers around the country considered is almost a rite of passage. Recreational Driving, Hanging out in vehicles, and Match-making with cars. Cruising Main Street in small towns and cities was one of my favorite social activities for eight years. Fortunately I have some video from back in the days that says it better than I can post here. I hope you enjoy it.

Teenage Cruising Hopkins, MN

 

[Jackthereaper]

Illegal? I took my A out this year Many times with old timers and young fellas alike. We cruised main, telegraph, jefferson, all the roads every town has.

 

[DoctorZ]

Illegal? I took my A out this year Many times with old timers and young fellas alike. We cruised main, telegraph, jefferson, all the roads every town has.

The law is unconstitutional and we tried to fight it to no avail. There are exceptions for Car Clubs etc., where they have vendors who make money, and the time and place is restricted.

The cruising I'm talking about involved mostly teenagers conglomerating along a designated stretch of roadway and/or driving up and down that SAME stretch of roadway all night. This combined with large crowds of teenage spectators along the street corners and parking lots was finally classified as Loitering and sometimes Trespassing if the business parking lot was closed for the night.

Loitering in a moving car was classified as passing a "Checkpoint" three times within an hour. The laws were passed because the traffic congestion caused by all the vehicles was raising air pollution above acceptable limits in the area. So they said.....