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Utah Senate backs tougher penalties for street racing, advances bill to third reading
Summary
The Senate voted to advance amendments that raise penalties for street racing, including impoundment and elevated misdemeanor charges; sponsors said the changes respond to rising organized racing and safety concerns, while members sought safeguards against overreach.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate on the floor advanced legislation aimed at stiffening penalties for street racing, adopting an amendment to raise the offense to a higher misdemeanor and ordering the bill to third reading after a roll-call vote.
Senator Mark Hale, sponsor of Senate Bill 193, said the measure targets organized street-racing events that have grown in scale and danger. "We need to increase penalties for those who street race," Hale said, describing incidents with spectators and speeds above 100 miles per hour and urging lawmakers to give law enforcement stronger tools, including vehicle impoundment and driver-suspension provisions.
Senators debated how the bill would be applied. Senator Hickman worried about "over enforcement" and asked whether officers could be expected to distinguish casual speeding from an organized race. Hale said the measure is aimed at staged "motor vehicle speed contest or an exhibition of speed," not routine speeding.
Senator McCoy stressed prosecutorial screening: "We have to remember that this isn't a ticket," he said, adding that a class B misdemeanor requires prosecution in court and a prosecutor will decline to pursue weak cases. Senator Kilpack and others asked for clarity on officer discretion and safeguards so ordinary speeding incidents would not be escalated into the new crime.
The Senate adopted Amendment No. 1, described on the floor as moving the penalty from a class C to a class B misdemeanor and adding impoundment and suspension provisions. On the roll-call, SB 193 received 24 aye votes, 3 nay votes and 2 absences and was advanced to the third-reading calendar for further consideration.
Supporters said the change responds to growing, organized racing that endangers bystanders. Opponents and cautious supporters pressed for clear standards to avoid improperly criminalizing routine speeding and to ensure prosecutors and courts filter marginal cases.
The Senate will take further action when the bill appears on its third-reading calendar.
