John Benoit, Palm
Desert representative to the California State Assembly, is reintroducing an amended version of AB 2190 this year. The
bill addresses illegal street-racing and would increase penalties for street-racers, including a four to ten year
prison sentence if someone is killed by the activity. According to the DMV, street-racing has resulted in more than 40
deaths since 2001, while arrests of street-racers has increased by nine percent since 2004.
Reasons why
people street-race, states CHP Sergeant Matt Boothe, range from younger drivers possessing ‘invincibility complexes’ to
the availability of low-cost small, high-performance vehicles like modified Acuras.
Other laws in California
dealing with the issue allow Los Angeles County police officers to confiscate and destroy such vehicles.
[Source: Whittier Daily News]