The issue of street racing was thrust into the spotlight after a traffic jam of 600-800 cars on March 8, caused by street racing between Alameda and Colfax Avenue on I-225.
While street racing is not a new phenomenon in Colorado or the Denver area, it has become more prominent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. From January to May 2020, the Denver police issued 61 tickets for street racing-related offenses with 36 occurring between March 26 (the day stay-at-home orders went into effect) and May 10. For 2021, Denver issued 17 tickets for racing as of March 17. With warmer weather approaching, the Denver Police Department issued a warning on Facebook about a rise in street racing.
The punishment for street racing in Denver is a fine of up to $1000 and 12 points on your driver’s license, which causes an automatic suspension and impoundment of your vehicle. After the shutdown of I-225, the city of Aurora is looking at creating a similar ordinance to Denver’s Public Nuisance Law, which allows the seizure of vehicles for taking part in the race or evading police if they attempt to stop it. The Denver Police Department uses their helicopter to aid in finding where the races take place, but even then, it is difficult to catch them.
Racers will briefly post the date and time for the race on social media before taking it down to elude authorities. Details about the race often spread by word of mouth as well. The sheer number of people that turn up to the more fixed location events makes it hard for the police to make arrests. The racers tend to move from one location to another if they hear about police activity nearby. There is also a type of street racing called roll racing, where the cars match a slower speed and then start racing, making the event more fluid as it is usually done on a highway instead of at one location.
Street racing has caused significant property damage. One owner paid $40,000 in damages and hired security to stop the racers from returning. There have been deaths caused by the racers as well. In 2017, a teenager was hit from behind after two street racers stopped suddenly. On April 3 of this year, a woman was killed in downtown Denver when a street racer crashed into her car.
To combat the issue, reportstreetracing.com was created to allow the public to report street racing, as well as give information on where car racing can be done legally. As part of this effort, multiple police departments in the Front Range, such as Denver, Lakewood, Aurora and Colorado Springs, have partnered to aid each other with exchanging resources and information. Colorado Springs and Aurora have also started the process of creating a similar ordinance to Denver’s Public Nuisance Law.
