Sandy Springs City Councils Adopts A Street Racing Ordinance

Post Date: 02/16/2021, 7:59 p.m.

The Sandy Springs City Council approved a Street Racing Ordinance during Tuesday's meeting to provide regulations and penalties for those organizing or participating in street racing and reckless driving exhibitions, and for spectators of those events.

State law prohibits street racing on highways and prohibits drivers of any motor vehicle from using streets, highways, public or private driveways, airport runways, or parking lots for reckless driving exhibitions. Generally, the law allows municipalities to regulate and control the use of roads within their jurisdictions. The new ordinance provides Sandy Springs Police with better enforcement options against illegal street racing.

Under the ordinance, organizers and participants shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or any combination thereof, subject to the limitations contained in the Charter of the City or applicable state law. In addition, any motor vehicle used for illegal street racing or reckless driving exhibitions can be impounded by the police department for not less than 30 days or until final adjudication of the case.

Cities throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area have seen an increase in street racing over the past year, as traffic subsided during the coronavirus pandemic. Sandy Springs Police reported four incidents since October 2020. In all but one case, arrests were made.

"Street racing poses a danger for participants and spectators alike. Whenever you mix high speed and driver antics, it is a recipe with a high potential to injure people and even kill someone. With this ordinance, we want to get the word out that street racing won't be tolerated in our city," said Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone.

The ordinance is effective immediately.