Since the release of the new hit movie “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”, the street racing scene has sky rocketed in popularity. Now with many after market parts and high-performance parts for most vehicles, these cars just keep on getting better and faster. Along with the fast comes a great deal danger. For this reason, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has recently signed a new Street Racing bill that will penalize anyone who is involved in street competitions.

People who support the bill say that street racing critically injures or kills hundreds of people each year. The Department of Motor Vehicles estimated that at least seven thousand six hundred and forty drivers were reported and cited for participating in those illegal races; it was a nine percent increase compared to last year. The drivers in the cars do not realize the danger they are putting themselves into and more importantly, the danger they present to innocent bystanders. “It is disturbing to hear the many tragic stories of young people who have had their lives cut short from a street racing-related accident. We need to do everything we can to stop this growing trend.” said Governor Schwarzenegger.

When this new law takes action, law enforcement personnel expect to have some critical consequences for those involved in illegal street races. “Those who race their cars at high speeds on California streets and highways endanger the lives of innocent people as well as themselves,” Governor Schwarzenegger said in a statement. The old law for street racing was that any driver caught in a speed contest would be fined, be charged with a misdemeanor, and possibly run the chance of getting their car impounded for thirty days. The new bill states stiffer penalties, such as the driver being charged with a felony instead of the misdemeanor, a sentence of up to six months in state prison, a fine of up to one thousand dollars, and the possibility of getting their car taken away permanently.

The Salinas Police Department is taking a similar approach to decrease the number of street racers in the city. Street racing in Salinas really blew up when 2 Fast 2 Furious came out. According to Sgt. Miller, street racing has declined over the past couple of years and he is expecting to keep that rate down. “We have taken specialized training to deal with them,” said Miller, “and we are taught different techniques by the California Highway Patrol.” The special training the police officers take is for people who try to get away, so they will have the skill to keep up with the driver and stop them in the most harmless way. He also states that the most people involved in these events are people in their late teens and early twenties. It is not surprising that that age group is most involved because in all of the Fast and the Furious movies, all of the actors are young as well.

The methods that the police officers have been using to help stop street racing have been very effective. One of the tactics that they use on them is to block all the exits in the parking lot area where the racers hang out and issued tickets to anyone that was in that parking lot at that time. The ticket stated that they were violating CA PENAL CODE SECTION 602(n) which was trespassing on private property because they were in the parking lot after the store had closed. Another tactic that the police have been using is surprising the racers in the area where the competitions are being held and blocking both ends so that no one will be able to get away.