House panel backs law to criminalize street takeovers, allow vehicle impoundment

A House transportation subcommittee on Wednesday unanimously voted to report House Bill 2036, a measure that would make organized "street takeovers" and exhibition driving a Class 1 misdemeanor, authorize impoundment of vehicles used in such events and create new penalties for spectators.

The bill, sponsored by Delegate Eileen F. Bulova, aims to give law enforcement and judges new tools to address organized, often masked, crews who stage dangerous driving exhibitions in public streets and parking lots.

Bulova said the events often involve donuts, burnouts and drivers or passengers riding in places not designed for passengers, and that they have grown into a public-safety problem across the National Capital Region. "These events disrupt our communities, put lives at risk, and threaten the safety of our law enforcement officers," she said.

The text adds exhibition driving to the existing racing statute, classifies exhibition driving and riders in non-passenger areas as Class 1 misdemeanors, makes knowingly attending as a spectator a Class 3 misdemeanor in some circumstances, and allows judges to suspend licenses for up to six months at their discretion. The bill also sets a process for impounding vehicles used in exhibition driving for up to 20 days and incorporates language similar to existing impoundment provisions for DUI cases.

Scott Caldwell, commander of the Traffic Division for the Fairfax County Police Department, told the committee that takeover events are planned frequently and are organized in closed online groups. "Preventing these events is exceptionally difficult because the organizers use closed media groups and encrypted communication to avoid detection," Caldwell said. He described incidents in which officers were surrounded by masked participants and vehicles were used as weapons.

Fairfax County Supervisor Noel Dominguez and speakers representing AAA, Northern Virginia pedestrian-safety groups and local families who lost loved ones to reckless driving also supported the bill. A relative of a crash victim described a death she said was caused by reckless driving at high speed and urged passage of tougher tools for courts and police.

Delegate Bulova and county witnesses said the bill borrows definitions and penalties that already exist elsewhere in Virginia law, such as provisions criminalizing attendance at dogfighting or cockfighting and current racing statutes. One committee member asked that language defining a "spectator" be narrowly tailored to avoid criminalizing bystanders; witnesses said the draft focuses on people who are "knowingly present" and participate in closed communications that lure attendees.

The subcommittee approved the bill 8-0 and will send it to the Courts subcommittee after the full transportation committee hearing. The sponsor offered a small amendment to remove language referring to a "first offense" tier in the impoundment section; the committee accepted that amendment as friendly during debate.

The bill now moves to the next committee in the referral chain for further review and possible amendment.