Rock rentals: Study says addicts loaning cars for crack

It ain't Avis or Hertz, but apparently in some circles you can rent a car for as little as a couple of rocks of crack. Of course, that amount may only get you a couple of hours in your borrowed car, but with no credit checks it seems like less of a hassle than mainstream car renting.

This newly-emerging trend of alternative car rentals is discussed in a study by The University of Alabama that was published last Friday in the British Journal of Criminology. The UA researchers learned of rock rentals during interviews with Louisiana prison inmates, then confirmed it by talking to several non-imprisoned drug users.

One person interviewed as part of the study said, "That's how we used to ride when we were young. To have a rock rental was like having a brand new car in the neighborhood."

As you might expect, rock rentals don't always get returned on time... or at all. And that's when the real trouble starts. In a story about the study in The Birmingham News, Jefferson County, Ala. sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Randy Christian said rock rentals gone bad are sometimes reported as stolen, which cost his department time and money. One Louisiana town had 792 reported auto thefts in one year, 400 of which turned out to be rock rentals.

You can read an abstract of the study here, but it'll cost you to read the whole thing, and we doubt they'll take anything other than cash.

[Source: The Birmingham News]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.








Autoblog Podcast #156: Paukert comes back for more! 

Chris, Dan, and Editor Paukert chat and give each other grief. Merriment ensues.

 
 

Subscribe via: iTunes | RSS


Featured Galleries

  • 2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35is
  • Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta
  • 2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X
  • First Drive: 2010 Lexus GX460
  • Hennessey Performance Venom GT in the shop
  • 2011 Honda CR-Z Brochure
  • Danica Patrick NASCAR
  • Tiger Woods GM-owned Cadillac Escalade
  • Forza 3 Hot Holidays DLC
  • Spy Shots: Baby Buick caught in Germany
  • 2011 Aston Martin Rapide
  • LA 2009: Allard J2X MkII
AOL Autos

Find Your Next Car

Autoblog Video


Autoblog Green

BloggingStocks

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum