Fort Worth police want to ramp up their efforts to address speeding, reckless driving and street racing issues that continue to be frequent complaints to the department, according to a recent report to the City Council.
The backstory: According to the report, between November and April, police issued 12,932 traffic citations, including 1,690 for school-zone violations. In addition, 61 fatal car accidents occurred—21 incidents involving pedestrians.
According to a city news release, in the same six-month span, people reported 1,074 incidents of street racing or street takeovers across the city. Many of the calls were about reckless motorists “hot rodding,” or driving vehicles with loud engines, screeching tires or accelerating too quickly.
According to the news release, street takeovers pose a serious problem because they block police and other emergency vehicles. During street takeovers, drivers perform dangerous and daring stunts like doughnuts as hundreds of onlookers stand by. These takeovers obstruct an entire street or intersection.
