Evo Street Racers: Anti-Street Racing Legislation

Street Racing Legislation for Fremont, Santee, Stockton, Los Angeles, & San Diego

Source: C.O.P.S.
Date: 2004

The City of San Diego was among the first to pass a vehicle forfeiture ordinance, in 2003. A vehicle will be declared a nuisance and permanently seized if it was used in a race or exhibition of speed and the driver has a prior conviction for certain serious driving offenses (such as reckless driving or evading officers).38

The City Council of Los Angeles soon followed San Diego’s example, also approving vehicle-forfeiture legislation. The vehicles are auctioned off and the money deposited into the city’s general fund. Furthermore, police in both the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County can arrest spectators on a misdemeanor. In July 2003, the first man to be convicted under the Los Angeles law was sentenced to 18 months’ probation and 10 days community service.39 The city uses state Bureau of Automotive Repair investigators to inspect vehicles suspected of being illegally modified by their owners; a city ordinance prohibits disconnection, modification, or alteration of pollution control devices, and cited drivers must return their vehicles to their original factory specifications.40

The City of Stockton, California, also targeted offenders’ vehicles rather than the drivers, relying on the aforementioned state statute allowing the police to seize for 30 days vehicles that were used in reckless driving incidents.

The City of Fremont, California banned all traffic between 10 PM and 6 AM on 10 roads popular with street racers and allowed police to impound the vehicles of both drivers and spectators.

The City of Santee, California made it unlawful for any individual to be a spectator (within 200 feet) at an illegal speed contest, or where preparations are being made for an illegal speed contest; violators are subject to fines of up to $1,000 and six months in jail.