California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed four bills into law which the state hopes will reduce the number of dangerous street takeovers, sideshows and street races that have been a scourge on major cities.
The bills, which the Governor’s Office said received bipartisan support, will impose stricter penalties and give law enforcement new tools to combat the siege of these illegal street activities, including the potential loss of a violator’s vehicle.
“Sideshows are reckless, criminal activities that endanger our communities,” Newsom said in a news release issued Monday. “We have seen too many people killed or hurt at these events.”
The four bills signed into law by the governor are as follows:
- Assembly Bill 1978 by Assemblymember Kate Sanchez (R-Rancho Santa Margarita)
- Allows a law enforcement officer to seize a vehicle used to obstruct a roadway to make way for a street takeover or race without having to take the driver into custody.
- AB 2186 by Assemblymember Greg Wallis (R-Palm Springs)
- Expands existing law to allow a law enforcement officer to seize and impound a vehicle for up to 30 days if the officer determines the vehicle was used for a race or speed exhibition in an off-street parking facility. Existing laws do not have those provisions for parking facilities.
- AB 2807 by Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua (D-Stockton)
- Standardizes existing language to clarify that a vehicle “sideshow” is also known as a “street takeover.” Previously, there was no such distinction.
- AB 3085 by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson)
- Allows law enforcement to impound a vehicle suspected to have been used in a street takeover or street race on highways or parking lots with a warrant or judge’s order, similar to existing laws related to evading police.
The new legislation, California lawmakers believe, will provide new resources for law enforcement to crack down on street takeovers — drivers and spectators — with the threat of vehicle impoundment among the most powerful tools at their disposal.