ODESSA, Texas — Many people in both the cities of Midland and Odessa have complained of street racers burning down the streets.
New bills signed by Governor Greg Abbott aim to curb those racers. House Bill 1442 will give the police more tools when taking on street racers and street takeovers. Meanwhile, House Bill 2899 allows cars that are involved in street racing or takeovers to be immediately impounded.
While the new bills will get them some backup, the local police have not been sitting around.
"It’s huge. We know how big of a problem it is here in Odessa," Odessa Police Public Information Officer Steve LeSueur said. "I just hear about it everywhere, you know. We do receive complaints about it on a regular basis.”
It's been on the brain of Midland police as well, according to Brian Taylor, a supervisor with the Midland Police traffic control.
“It’s always something that is a concern, if for no other reason than it's so dangerous," Taylor said. "So, it’s always something that’s on our mind to enforce when we encounter it.”
While racing is fairly well-known, takeovers are new.
These illegal joyrides slow down traffic and put others in danger.
“It’s always a risk, it's a dangerous activity," Taylor said. "Some of them can obstruct traffic flow, that can lead to secondary crashes. There have been pedestrians that have been involved in crashes in other cities. It’s a dangerous thing to do, these [streets] are not designed for racing.”
But what kind of charges can racers expect to face if and when they get pulled over? LeSueur went into the details.
“It starts off as a Class B misdemeanor. If they have one prior conviction, it’s a Class A misdemeanor. If it’s two prior convictions, it can be a state jail felony," LeSueur said. "It could be more serious, like third-degree felony depending on what type of injuries are sustained.”
Another new method: hide in plain sight. New undercover cars roam the streets, on the prowl and ready to end races before they begin.
“They don’t look like regular patrol units, they’re called ghost units and ghost trucks, so they’re white," LeSueur said. "So, from a distance, they look like a regular vehicle, but when you get close to them, you can tell that it’s an actual police traffic unit.”