City attorney says 'stop being a jerk' as Columbus cracks down on street racing

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus is cracking down on reckless driving as city leaders point to a surge in street racing that started during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, Columbus City Council approved a change to the part of the city code that banned street racing, adding language on stunt driving and street takeovers to the section. Stunt driving can include weaving in and out of traffic and bikers popping wheelies, and a street takeover is when multiple vehicles shut down an intersection for cars to do things like burnouts and doughnuts.

An uptick in street racing, stunt driving and street takeovers throughout the country has led to an increase in dangerous activity on public streets, according to councilmembers and City Attorney Zach Klein.

"People are fed up with it, and it's on their nerves from a quality of life standpoint," Klein said. "But equally so, I think folks are concerned about the fact that it's a threat to public safety."

Although the Ohio Legislature recently passed House Bill 56, which addressed these issues, the city decided to double down on those efforts.

"What we did was take it a little step further," Councilmember Emmanuel Remy said.

The amendment to the city code includes the following changes:

• Prohibits any person from knowingly participating in stunt driving or street takeovers in public areas.
• Specifies that anyone assisting stunt driving or street takeover be charged the same as the participants.
• Prohibits street racing on private property open to the public and applies the same legal penalties.
• Makes the two new criminal offenses first-degree misdemeanors, carrying a potential driver's license suspension ranging from 30 days to three years, and the assessment of six points on the offender's license.
• Defines a vehicle component as: "any motor vehicle part or accessory specifically adapted for use in street racing, stunt driving, or street takeover. Vehicle component includes, but is not limited to, steering wheels, wheels and tires, and mufflers.”
• Authorizes the forfeiture of vehicle components used in committing the offense.

Of these changes, Remy and Klein said forcing offenders to give up parts of their vehicle could have the greatest impact. Klein said this will discourage street racing by putting a financial squeeze on the people involved.

Remy said charging those who assist the offenders with the same crime was a significant change.

"Those that are surrounding and cheering and rooting, we have the ability to charge them as well as the actual driver themselves," Remy said. "We are not going to tolerate that."

Klein, wanted to send a message to involved drivers to "stop being a jerk." He supported the additional penalties because stunt driving and street racing can lead to accidents and gun violence.

"You could lose control of the vehicle at any moment," Klein said. "You could run over a kid playing at a playground. It really does threaten public safety from a vehicle standpoint. But unfortunately, we've also seen a lot of these street takeovers especially escalate to gun violence."

In March, a man was taken to the hospital after a street takeover resulted in a 21-year-old driver crashing into another car. At the time, Lt. Christopher Wayner of Columbus police warned of the trend increasing.

“They’re putting a lot of themselves and their spectators at risk,” Wayner said. “April [2023], there was a large number of these, and we had officers actually get shot at who were trying to break up an event. We’ve already had shots fired at events this year when we were clearing them out.”