Houston Area Police Arrest Street Racers

The gloves are coming off…

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which is the county where Houston, Texas is located, has been boasting about the arrests it’s made lately in illegal street racing busts. For example, Chief Mike Lee said over 43 people were arrested and several cars were towed in just one night. The owners will face a mountain of fees and paperwork to get their rides back, which hopefully will make at least some of them think twice before racing on city streets again.

Learn how Atlanta and Detroit are dealing with races and street takeovers here.

This recent initiative undertaken by the sheriff coincided with the TX2K21 Roll & Drag Race Nationals in Baytown, Texas. While Houston has been a hotbed for illegal street races as well as street takeovers, this effort is aimed at turning that around. Police in Houston have been increasingly focusing on illegal racing and street takeovers since December of last year.

With the coronavirus shutdowns, racing and street takeovers have surged in popularity nationwide. People are bored and need an outlet, so some have unfortunately turned to illegal activities as a solution. Houston has seen many fatal accidents from these events with some of the victims being innocent people just going about their daily lives.

As part of the push against street racing, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office has been asking the public to report illegal racing and street takeovers. Unlike in some jurisdictions, authorities are saying they will take reports seriously.

We get why people do this stuff: drivers want to modify their car and see how fast it is versus others. And while it’s exciting to cruise around, challenging others to races, it’s also incredibly dangerous for the racers and everyone else on the road. While some enthusiasts complain going to a track is too expensive, we’re pretty sure all the fees associated with getting arrested and having your ride impounded add up to way more, and that’s the point. Sooner or later you’ll get caught.

Source: KHOU 11