The Starlighters Dance Club

Did You Know? - Efforts to stop cruising continued, with increasing blockades and mass arrests. In 1985, random checkpoints began to appear, with police stopping cars passing the spot more than once in a given time-frame. Computers were added in 1988 to help track the cars. New curfews for minors were established. Cruising in southern California was generally suppressed by 1990. Other regions used tactics similar to southern California's, with similar mixed results. Police in Galveston, Texas began arresting cruisers, but had to back down in the face of parental complaints. Joplin, Missouri attempted a ban on cruising, but had to repeal it. Merchants in Portland, Oregon complained that they were losing business because of the crackdowns. Multiple towns across the U.S. adopted the checkpoint system.

Other towns tried creative alternatives, such as Laurel, Mississippi and Princeton, West Virginia, which both channeled cruisers onto routes that would not interfere with local businesses. Setting aside parking lots specifically for cruisers was tried in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Columbus, Indiana. The town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia chose to embrace cruising, awarding prizes for the best customized vehicles.

Cities continue to struggle with the problems of cruising into the 2000s.

Did You Know? - Candy cigarettes are a candy introduced in the late 19th century made out of chalky sugar, bubblegum or chocolate, wrapped in paper and packaged and branded so as to resemble cigarettes. Some products contain powdered sugar hidden in the wrapper, allowing the user to blow into the cigarette and produce a cloud of sugar that imitates smoke, which comes out of the other end.