Blow for boy racers as illegal street racing crackdown extended into Birmingham
Boy racers in Birmingham are being targeted as part of a new clampdown on illegal and dangerous street racing.
A High Court Order banning motorists from organising, promoting and taking part in street cruising – which includes racing or performing stunts with motor vehicles – on public highways across the city will come into force October 24.
The move is the latest such order being implemented in the West Midlands after one came into effect across the Black Country in 2014.
The order will last for three years and those who breach it could face prison sentences, fines of up to £5,000 and risk vehicles being seized and crushed.
Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Police have been working together after residents and businesses endured months of dangerous driving.
Earlier this summer, police action seized 35 bikes and nine people were arrested on suspicion of a range of offences including public nuisance and criminal damage after a series of warrants were executed across the region.
Councillors have received regular reports of youths riding motorbikes, quad bikes and scooters in a dangerous manner.
Council bosses said the escalation in street-cruising across Birmingham posed a 'real threat'.
Councillor Waseem Zaffar, Cabinet Member for Transparency, Openness and Equality in Birmingham, said: "Street cruising in the city has escalated recently posing a real threat to innocent, law-abiding motorists and pedestrians who are going about their everyday business as well as causing considerable noise disturbance and inconvenience for local residents and businesses.
"It would only take one vehicle to lose control for us to witness devastating consequences.
"Anyone who races on Birmingham's roads and in public areas needs to understand they will be found and prosecuted and are likely to lose their licence, face a fine running into thousands of pounds and possibly imprisonment."
