Data shows number of traffic-related arrests increased in 2022
“For the first six months of the year, the Memphis Police Department has made more drag racing arrests than they made in 2019 and 2020,” MPD Deputy Chief Paul Wright said.
There are 24 article(s) tagged drag racing:
“For the first six months of the year, the Memphis Police Department has made more drag racing arrests than they made in 2019 and 2020,” MPD Deputy Chief Paul Wright said.
The Millington track is considered by many a safe place to race. But regulars worry that drag racers will move to the streets if plans to sell the track and build a warehouse move forward.
2021 police stats show arrests for reckless driving and drag racing are up over 2020. That follows a stronger police presence and traffic enforcement without changing the police pursuit policy.
During four days, from weekday afternoons to weekend nights, The Daily Memphian took a radar gun to five locations in Shelby County and recorded the speed of 240 drivers.
State Rep. John Gillespie, a Memphis Republican, intends to make it easier to prosecute drag racers with an offense more severe than mere reckless driving.
The current policy bars police car chases for misdemeanors including traffic offenses.
The Memphis Police Department doesn’t engage in high-speed car chases unless in pursuit of a dangerous felon. But one City Council member says the policy should change.Related stories:
Calling it a “terrible reality,” Memphis City Councilman Worth Morgan said that “people are not being held accountable for fleeing from police.”
Whether it is an old-fashioned drag race on a quarter-mile of city street straightaway, weaving in and out of traffic at 100-mph-plus on interstates or performing stunts in public parking lot, the street racing culture brings danger, and sometimes tragedy, to those unfortunate enough to be nearby.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, District Attorney General Amy Weirich will talk about how her office prosecutes reckless driving and drag racing cases.
MPD’s Slow Down Memphis operation to combat speeding, drag racing and interstate shootings has revved up by partnering with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Law enforcement is not helpless in trying to curb the lawlessness. But it will take cooperation from all of us who want safer streets and highways.
Even Anthony Smith, who was a drag racer in the ‘Street Outlaws: Memphis’ TV series, says there’s a problem. ‘These kids now are out here ... cutting doughnuts and shooting guns in the air, and that ain’t the drag racing we do.’
The council also approved a new seven-year lease between the city and the Withers Collection Inc., which has been behind on its rent.
Proposed rules delay action on the city adding a $2.6 million community grants program to its next budget.
The items added Monday evening to the council’s committee list include $1 million in funding for the city’s vaccine ramp-up. They join what was already a busy council day, including the 100 North Main building, street racing and sewer fees.
Legal questions prompt delay of consideration on three measures.
A city ordinance that would ban cat and dog sales at pet stores within Memphis passed the Memphis City Council Tuesday, Feb. 2, on the first of three readings.
The agenda also includes changes to the city’s financial policies to allow the balloon debt structure to finance the project.
By a narrow 7-6 vote, the Memphis City Council has changed the default speed limit on city streets without speed limit signs from 30 miles an hour to 25 miles an hour.
The first online council meeting of the year comes with some changes in committee chairmanships and votes on down-zoning two parts of Summer Avenue as well as new penalties for illegal street racing.
Video showed several cars doing donuts in traffic on Interstate 240. Memphis police said they will not “tolerate criminal acts like this.”
A set of three proposed ordinances aren’t due for a vote by the full council until the new year. But several council members are concerned about how police will carry out the ordinances if they are passed.
Drag racing would still be a misdemeanor under the legislation proposed by two Shelby County legislators. But it would be a higher grade misdemeanor. The City Council will also see some resolutions on its agenda supporting the bill.
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