Mitchell Kaminski
JEFFERSON CITY Mo. (KMIZ)
Jefferson City leaders are moving forward with proposed ordinances aimed at curbing illegal street takeovers and minibike use on public roads after being flooded with complaints from residents across the city.
The Jefferson City Public Safety Committee discussed and approved the wording of the proposed ordinances on Thursday, though both measures still require approval from the City Council before taking effect.
One ordinance targeting minibikes would prohibit stunt driving and street takeovers within city limits, while another would ban minibikes from operating on public streets and establish new noise restrictions.
Jefferson City Police Chief Eric Wilde said complaints surrounding street takeovers have increased significantly in recent months.
“We generally see that pop up usually in the spring of every year. It’s just that this year it seems to be more prevalent. We’ve had a lot more complaints about it, so we’re looking to take proactive action to try to get that to stop,” Wilde said of street takeovers.
In 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 442 fatalities in crashes involving street racing or speeding on public roads.
While Wilde said the city has not seen any major accidents tied to street takeovers, he described the activity as a growing nuisance and said the proposed ordinance is intended to prevent someone from eventually being seriously injured.
The proposed street takeover ordinance would prohibit activities including burnouts, donuts, drag racing, drifting, wheelies and racing on public streets and parking lots. The ordinance would also make it unlawful to participate in a street takeover event.
Violations would carry minimum fines of $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense and $400 for a third or subsequent offense, along with additional penalties for repeat offenders. However the ordinance would not apply to sanctioned events approved by the city or property owners.
Wilde said the behavior has escalated over the last several years.
“The display driving that we’re seeing is more about dangerous driving in the form of wheelies on motorcycles, doing donuts with your cars, you know, burnouts, that sort of thing. So it’s just escalated a lot over the last couple of years, and it’s something that we’ve taken notice of. But our community has as well, and they’ve really sent some complaints our way,” Wilde said.
According to police, some of the activity has involved car “clubs” traveling into Jefferson City from outside the area. Officials also noted the ordinance would extend to parking lots because of concerns about vehicles losing control in crowded areas.
Ward 1 Councilman Randy Hoselton voiced support for the measure during the meeting.
“This is very needed,” Hoselton said. “It’s a shame we have to make a law to tell people don’t drive like a nut but here we are.”
Hoselton added he recently had his own encounter with group of drivers participating in a street takeover in Jefferson City.
“There are 20 of them just going down the access way. No regard. There was nowhere else for me to go but the My Time,” Hoselton said, adding that he got out of the way just in time.
The committee also approved the wording of a proposed minibike ordinance that would prohibit certain two-wheeled motorized vehicles from operating on city streets.
The ordinance defines minibikes as vehicles not registered for street use, including dirt bikes, pocket bikes, pit bikes, trail bikes and mini motorcycles.
Under the proposal, first-time offenders would face a minimum $75 fine, while subsequent violations would carry a minimum $150 fine. Police would also be authorized to tow or remove minibikes found operating illegally on public streets.
Wilde said the city has struggled to enforce existing rules because of the wide variety of minibikes currently on the market.
“A lot of citizens have been having issues with those just because of how prevalent they are right now. But it’s been a challenge because of the types of mini-bikes that are out there. They’re so varied. And so we want to make sure that everybody understands that if you buy one of these for your children, they are not street legal to do so. We just didn’t have a mechanism in place of the city to enforce it,” Wilde said.
City officials said they have received complaints about minibikes from residents in every ward of Jefferson City.
If the ordinances are ultimately approved by the City Council, Wilde said police plan to begin with an education campaign before issuing citations.
“We’d certainly like to utilize the first few months if this passes, to educate the public about the legality of it and also that it’s just unsafe to do so,” Wilde said. “We see a lot of children that are under the age of 16 that are driving these in the middle of the streets. And you can’t do that without a driver’s license because it’s just unsafe to do so.”
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