These donuts can get you a ticket

ASHEBORO — The Asheboro Police Department likes donuts, but only if they come from a bakery.

The circular skid-mark patterns laid down by drivers on city streets are not the type of donuts law enforcement appreciates.

“It’s considered careless and reckless driving,” said Jay Hanson, assistant police chief. “If we catch someone in the act, we’ll charge them with a traffic violation.”

In recent weeks, street donuts have appeared where Sunset Avenue crosses the I-73/74 interchange. More recently, someone created a similar donut on Old Lexington Road at the entrance to Olde Town Village.

According to Wikipedia, a donut “maneuver entails rotating the rear or front of the vehicle around the opposite set of wheels in a continuous motion, creating (ideally) a circular skid-mark pattern of rubber on a carriageway and possibly even causing the tires to emit smoke from friction.” 

It was reported that Jeff Gordon popularized the donut in 1995 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to celebrate winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship. But that was on a racetrack, not a city street.

As for donuts on Asheboro city streets, it’s more than likely that they’re laid down late at night when traffic is virtually non-existent. Hanson said he doesn’t know if police officers have witnessed anyone in the act, since citations may not provide details other than charges filed.

He said curved black marks sometimes indicate a vehicle out of control. “But it’s obvious to tell if circles are from someone goofing off.”

Hanson said it’s likely that a driver with a hot car, when approaching an intersection and “sees it’s safe to act the fool,” may choose to spin circles on the pavement. But so far he hasn’t heard significant reports of such shenanigans.

But the recent appearance of donuts, he said, “gives concerns,” and provides impetus for patrol officers to check regularly on those areas of interest.

So, if you want to make donuts, do it in the kitchen, not on the street. Because people are watching.