Tensions were high at a forum on reckless driving Wednesday, Jan. 11, as concerned citizens voiced outrage and offered potential solutions to curb the problem.

Approximately 100 attendees gathered for the forum at Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. Panelists included: Memphis Police Department Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, Memphis City Councilman Ford Canale, Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board Member Dr. Althea Greene, City Councilman J.B. Smiley Jr. and City of Memphis Engineer and Engineering Division Director Manny Belen.

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MPD Deputy Chief Paul Wright presented data that showed there were 88 drag racing charges and 902 reckless driving charges in 2022. In 2021 there were 80 drag racing charges and 810 reckless driving charges.

Wright said the department has been working with city engineers to find deterrents for reckless driving including overtime for officers, more speed bumps in neighborhoods and officer teams stationed in areas with high reports of reckless driving including Hickory Hill, Winchester Road and Germantown Parkway. 

“When we arrest people for drag racing and reckless driving, we do try to physically arrest those individuals, because those actions will continue,” Wright said. “Approximately 95% of those cars are towed.”

Mulroy said reckless driving is relatively easy to prove. It’s a Class B misdemeanor and has a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and six months in jail.

However, the charge does not allow for seizure of vehicles, something Mulroy says is critical to stopping reckless driving. 

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“The number of reckless driving prosecutions has remained relatively steady in the last year or two, but the number of drag racing prosecutions has really increased significantly by 300% between 2021 and 2022,” Mulroy said. “If you really want to get to the root of the problem, you should have the option to seize the car.”

Drag racing is a Class A misdemeanor and allows for imprisonment up to 11 months and 29 days, and a fine of $2,500. It also allows for seizure of the vehicle. 

“Here’s the rub,” Mulroy said. “Drag racing is relatively hard to prove.”

Mulroy said for an individual to be convicted of drag racing, two or more persons must be engaging in an actual race, or law enforcement must prove that one person acting alone was testing the mechanical limit of their vehicle.

“Testing the mechanical limit of a vehicle is literally putting the pedal all the way down to the floor in an attempt to see how fast it can go,” Mulroy said. “If you can prove that, that’s great, but if the officer sees someone driving at a high rate of speed and pulls them over, it may be difficult to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt as we must in the court of law, that the person was trying to test the maximum or they were engaged in an actual race.”

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The Tennessee legislature recently passed a new statute for “aggravated reckless driving,” which makes reckless driving at a high rate of speed a Class A misdemeanor instead of a Class B, increasing penalties.

Mulroy and the bill’s author, state Rep. John Gillespie (R-Memphis), intend to get seizure of vehicles added as a remedy for aggravated reckless driving during the current legislative session.

“I personally support that remedy and talk to your state legislatures to support that as well,” Mulroy said. “With whatever statutes we have available, we will vigorously pursue them and will not at all be taken lightly.”

Davis said MPD is beginning to utilize unmarked vehicles to specifically combat reckless driving so the department may monitor and build a case against suspects.

After some attendees voiced frustration with the MPD’s perceived leniency on arresting reckless drivers, Davis reminded the audience police officers cannot enforce the law while breaking it.

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“I know where we’re going with this: Everybody wants police officers to chase vehicles at high rates of speed. The law will not allow for that,” Davis said. “There are federal superior court rulings that prohibit our officers from chasing anybody just because they have a counterfeit tag and muscle car.”

MPD recently added 15 officers and promoted 42 sergeants to the MPD traffic team.

“Their focus will be traffic, and we will also have a commander over traffic,” Davis said.

When one audience member posed a question regarding why driver’s ed is not a requirement for high school students, Greene said the state of Tennessee does not require it for students to graduate.

Vehicle and course program maintenance also exceeded the district’s budget limits.

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“If that’s something the citizens and parents want to bring back, we will entertain that,” Greene said. “Please advocate for what you want to see at Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Email us, call — we are listening, and we will research how to invest money in this.”

Greene added the problem of truancy does not equate to juvenile reckless driving or youth crime in general and says parental involvement is a key part of keeping school-aged children off the streets.

“It’s what happens when they leave school, and it’s a parenting issue when parents have no idea where their children are after hours,” Greene said. “We cannot control what happens when the school day ends.”

After various ideas were suggested by the audience — including a reckless driving hotline, a closed-course racing track for drag racers and including juvenile drag racers in forum discussions — 15-year-old Fletcher Taylor took the microphone. 

“Going fast in cars and winning money for it? I’ve heard it’s an adrenaline rush, that it’s pretty fun,” Taylor said. “On social media you’ll see a lot of drag racing footage, but a large percentage of it is actually closed-course racing. Sometimes kids are just messing around and driving fast. ...

“It’s available, you can do it whenever you want, and there is a low chance that you’ll get caught.”

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Taylor is looking forward to turning 16 and getting his driver’s license, but he has reservations.

“If you’re not safe in how you drive, how you spend your time on the road, you could get hurt. And that’s irreparable.”