Oregon bill looks to increase criminal penalties for street racing, takeover events

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Oregon lawmakers are working ona bill that would bring stricter penaltiesfor drivers that take part in street racing or street takeover events.

Portland Police officials have said that officers are often overwhelmed when responding to these incident by the large crowds and the barricades that make them hard to access.

“These organized races have basically hijacked our intersections and streets with total disregard for the safety of not just the participants, but neighboring residents around,” said Sen. Mark Meek, who testified Wednesday at a public hearing on the bill.

If passed,Senate Bill 615Awould:

• Allow for a maximum prison sentence of 364 days and/or a $6,250 fine for the first offense, and five years and/or a $125,000 fine for the second offense
• Add speed racing as a subset of reckless driving
• Authorizes criminal forfeiture of the vehicles involved

Lawmakers supporting the bill say they think adding criminal forfeiture of suspected drivers’ vehicles will be a stronger deterrent than fines or even jail time.

If you see some of these vehicles, some of them are souped-up, they’re their babies. They really love them and cherish them,” said Meek. “If they want to continue this type of practice, they need to know they could be criminally forfeited and lose their vehicles.”

The policy director for the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, Aaron Knott, also testified in support of the bill. He said criminal forfeiture is a sensitive tool to utilize, but he recommends its adoption in this bill.

“This is not a crime of necessity or poverty," he said. "These are high-performance vehicles that are deliberately put together for the purpose of street racing. They are the instrumentality of the crime."

Under the bill, those who put up the barriers for racing events could also face prosecution for street racing.

“Those organized barricades in the road stop law enforcement the same way they would stop anyone else," said Knott.

Since 2021, there have been several deadly incidents of street racing in Portland – including an Aug. 2022 incident that led to the death of a 26-year-old woman who was waiting at a bus stop.

A spokesperson for Portland Police says officers have responded to calls where 200 to 300 people gathered for street racing events, clogging roadways and preventing first responders from getting to emergencies.

These are people that are experienced at precision driving, not precision enough to avoid these fatalities, but precision enough that going on a high-speed chase with them is no small matter, so to have any chance of apprehension, you need a large police response," said Knott.

During a hearing on the bill, it was asked if people who post on social media about organizing such events will also be prosecuted. Lawmakers said Oregon’s protections for free speech make it difficult to pursue any criminal charges.

The next work session on the bill is May 4.