Gov. Abbott signs laws cracking down on street racing during Fort Worth ceremony

From Staff Reports
·3 min read
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Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday ceremonially signed two key laws to protect Texans from illegal street racing, which passed during the 88th Regular Legislative Session, at the Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex in Fort Worth.

The legislation, House Bill 1442 and House Bill 2899, enhances penalties for perpetrators of illegal street racing and provides law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools to address these crimes, according to a news release from the governor's office.

House Bill 1442 provides law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools to go after organized street racing and street takeovers in Texas and elicit more substantial consequences for the perpetrators of these crimes.

More: Amarillo police taking steps to increase safety on the streets, reduce racing

House Bill 2899 allows immediate removal of vehicles used in street racing or a reckless driving exhibition from the road for the safety of other drivers. The bill removes the current requirement that a vehicle be impounded only if there was property damage or someone suffered bodily injury and instead allows impounding if the owner is charged with racing on a highway or reckless driving exhibition.

This file photo shows a green Dodge Challenger that was seized by the Amarillo police for illegal street racing. The back of the vehicle has a line in bold white text that reads: "This car was seized from a street racer".
This file photo shows a green Dodge Challenger that was seized by the Amarillo police for illegal street racing. The back of the vehicle has a line in bold white text that reads: "This car was seized from a street racer".

"Illegal street racing has become a growing problem, and Texas law enforcement needs new tools to curb illegal street racers whose activities threaten the very safety of everyone around them," Abbott said. "Just less than a month ago, Fort Worth Police broke up a street takeover and arrested five people involved. Today, we're here to ceremonially sign two key new laws that will empower police to curtail these illegal street racers. I thank Representative Johnson, Representative Plesa, Senator Bettencourt, and Senator Hall for bringing these two important pieces of legislation to my desk. Together, we are ensuring Texas remains a law and order state and that our law enforcement has the tools they need to secure our streets."

Abbott was joined for the ceremonial signing by Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Steve McCraw, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes, as well as other law enforcement officials and public safety advocates. Also in attendance were state Senators Bob Hall and Phil King and state Reps. Frederick Frazier, Charlie Geren, Mihaela Plesa, and Nate Schatzline.

"Texas has made it very clear that a street takeover will not stand, period," said Director McCraw. "We have an obligation to protect the state, and the law enforcement community is excited to have additional tools to be proactive. Nobody has a better, more professional law enforcement community than the state of Texas."

In February, Abbott announced the launch of a statewide street takeover task force to combat the rise in dangerous street takeovers happening across Texas. Since the task force's inception, numerous takeover events have been thwarted or stopped in all seven of Texas Highway Patrol Division Regions. Working closely with local law enforcement, DPS has made over 50 arrests, conducted more than 590 traffic stops, and issued over 390 traffic citations associated with illegal street racing across the state, according to the release.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Gov. Abbott signs two new laws cracking down on street racing