LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Scenes of drag racing on Louisville streets leave behind black rubber tire marks on roads and put lives in potential danger.
"Somebody's going to get injured and killed," Metro Council President David James, D-6, said.
Louisville Metro Police have increased patrols, both on the ground and in the skies, to try to monitor and stop the crime.
"There are nights that we see all kinds of activities," said Jessica Coleman, a manager at Baxter's 942 Bar and Grill. "Over top the DJs, over top the band or entertainment, you can still hear the drag racing from inside the bar"
Now, there's a proposal in Metro Council that would expand penalties for drag racing or "reckless driving exhibitions."
They are scenes that James says touch every neighborhood in the city.
"One of the more popular ones that people have seen on television are in the news, are the ones on the Watterson Expressway near the airport when they shut down the expressway eastbound lanes to do drag racing and donuts in the middle of the expressway," James said.
In August, LMPD released a PSA warning drag racers of an increase in patrols. Now, James and Councilwoman Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-8, are co-sponsoring an ordinance that targets speed contests and reckless driving exhibitions, saying they create "fear among neighbors."
The document specifies maneuvers such as burnouts, doughnuts, drifting and wheelies.
"Those are things that we're seeing, things the police were seeing, things that citizens are calling in about," James said.
Under the proposal, if someone is caught either participating or promoting a drag race or one of these exhibitions, or even blocking a street, the fine would be $1,000. If someone is busted a second time, the offense could cost $2,000.
The ordinance also expands the chance for police or Code Enforcement to seize and impound a vehicle involved.
"It also allows the police, so that they don't have to get in a physical pursuit with the vehicle, they can find where the vehicle is at a later date and then seize that vehicle," said James.
The ordinance will be discussed in the next meeting for the Public Safety committee, which is set for Wednesday, Oct. 19.
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