Anyone in the Denver Metro Area is familiar with the nightly sounds of street racing. Both on our highways and our city streets, we have just one more thing threatening our safety. As street racing concerns grow there’s a renewed focus on how to get these dangerous drivers off the street. Things turned deadly on Interstate 70 over Father’s Day weekend when driver John Jaros attempted to go around a group of racers, and was gunned down in front of his wife and three children. One thing is for sure. This isn’t just racing here. This is a danger to the community.
A closer look at the reports made online at ReportStreetRacing.com shows while often tied to metro area roads street racing is more widespread with more tips coming in on that site from more than 50 cities and counties across the state. Meaning that the street racing isn’t just in the metro area. It is now becoming a problem everywhere.
And while the problem has been around for years, it skyrocketed in 2020 when less people were on the roads.
Denver police say in 2019 they had 134 emergency calls that contain street racing or aggressive driving related incidents. In 2020 that number jumped to 505 calls.
The concern here is for the public’s safety. In light of the recent events, there is more attention being drawn to the racing because there has been more serious crimes attached to the racing making it more noticeable.
Help starts from the community. Report street racing at reportstreetracing.com or call the police to report incidences with the license plate information. Do not engage with the racers, just let them pass you and go on their way.
Hopefully with stricter penalties and legal racing options available to them, these racers will find different avenues to satisfy their adrenaline rushes. One that doesn’t risk the entire communities safety at the same time.
- INKLUSION
