Көлік ұрлығы: қызыққа салыну немесе тәуекел көру

Theft of a vehicle for pleasure or thrill

Joyriding is driving or riding in a stolen vehicle, most commonly a car, with no particular goal other than the pleasure or thrill of doing so or to impress other people. The term "joy riding" was coined by a New York judge in 1908. Joyriders often act opportunistically and choose easy targets (key on ignition while shopping, neighbor's car ). Like other car thieves, they can also gain access to locked cars with a flathead screwdriver and a slide hammer, although modern cars have systems to prevent a screwdriver from opening locks. Locks in cars manufactured before the early to mid 1990s were very weak and could be opened easily. The vehicle is started by either hot wiring or breaking the ignition lock. Ignition systems were much less sophisticated before the early to mid 1990s and easier to bypass. The vehicle is often driven through rural areas or less busy residential areas to avoid police notice, and dumped when it is exhausted of fuel or damaged. Many cases of joyriding end up with the vehicle interior soaked in petrol and lit to avoid forensic identification or at best sustaining serious damage resulting in expensive repairs or an insurance write off. Joyriding is most often committed when people are with peers, rather than alone.

Under English law and other common law systems, joyriding is not considered to be theft because the intent to "permanently deprive" the vehicle's owner of the vehicle cannot be proven. Instead, joyriding constitutes a separate, statutorily established offense of "unauthorized use" or "taking without owner's consent" (usually known by the acronym TWOC, or the slang terms "twoccing" or "twocking"). In 2007, in the United States and in Australia, most car thefts involved joyriding.

In Northern Ireland, joyriding is a common crime, and many people have campaigned against it. Since the 1980s, a number of youth gangs have been in existence, particularly in nationalist areas of Belfast, dedicated to joyriding and other criminal activities. During The Troubles, paramilitaries such as the Provisional IRA administered to suspected joyriders extralegal punishment, usually consisting of breaking their fingers or kneecaps, in order to temporarily or permanently incapacitate them from operating most motor vehicles. These punishments are still given today by the Continuity IRA, a breakaway organization from the Provisional IRA.