THE era of social media street racing may soon reach its end thanks to one state’s introduction of a major law targeting speed contests.
The increased fines and other punishments not only apply to those driving the vehicles, but also to those who helped organize the race.
Evening city street racing cars blurred motion (stock)[/caption]
Local law enforcement has been cracking down on street racing (stock)[/caption]
Colorado representatives are working with a local law enforcement agency to crackdown on street racing organized on social media.
The proposed law would not only increase the punishment for racers themselves, but those same penalties would apply to those individuals organizing the event.
The bill is also seeking to permit livestreams and social media posts as evidence in these cases.
Sheriff Reggie Marinelli of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and House Majority Leader Monica Duran are working on the new legislation together, with the latter sponsoring it.
“Our citizens spoke, and we listened. Our streets are not racetracks,” said Marinelli in a press release.
“Illegal street racing puts lives at risk, strains law enforcement resources, and invites other forms of criminal behavior. We need clear laws, tougher penalties, and modern enforcement tools to keep our communities safe,” he said.
Mark Techmeyer, director of public affairs for Jefferson County Sheriff’s office, echoed Marinelli’s sentiment regarding resources being strained by illegal street racing.
“Often by the time we get [to the street race], they have dispersed, or they’re in the process of dispersing, and there’s a lot of cars going in different directions and only so many deputies,” he told local Fox affiliate KDVR.
Marinelli and Duran are aiming for their new legislation to be ready for introduction during the 2026 legislative session of the Colorado General Assembly.
While Colorado already has state laws against speed contests and exhibitions, they do not go as far as the “Exhibition of Speed” law – or CRS § 42-4-1105 – seemingly plans to.
Current laws don’t suspend the licenses of racers even if they’re repeat offenders, meaning they can legally drive and possibly race again, either in their own car or someone else’s.
Current penalties, which Marinelli and Duran stress need to be increased, vary based on whether or not the incident in question is a speed contest or an exhibition of speed.
A speed contest is when one or more cars participate in a timed trial, while an “exhibition of speed” involves driving a car to display its speed or power and is identified by squealing tires or a car swerving through traffic.
Speed contests are punishable by $300 to $1,000 in fines, and/or anywhere from 10 days to a year in jail. Speed exhibitions are punishable by $150 to $300 in fines, and/or 10 to 90 days in jail.
How to fight a speeding ticket
According to a legally reviewed post, there are five effective strategies to fighting a speeding ticket if it was wrongfully issued.
- If pulled over and issued a ticket, drivers can argue or dispute a driver’s personal opinion. When issuing a speeding ticket, an officer is required to write their opinion and come to an “objective” conclusion. If the ticket was written based on that judgment, it can be contested. An example would be if you were going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone because others were traveling at the same speed, you could argue that it would be more dangerous to travel at 65 mph.
- You can dispute the officer’s presentation of evidence. If you were ticketed for something like running a stop sign or making an illegal u-turn, you can’t contest that if an officer saw you, but you can call things into court like eyewitnesses, diagrams, or photos.
- Argue that the ticket was issued by a “mistake of fact.” This is tricky, but a “mistake of fact” is a mistake made by a driver about a situation that was beyond their control, or if a driver legitimately did not know they were violating the law. For example, you were driving in two lanes because the lane markers were so worn down that you could not see them.
- You could say circumstances justified your driving. You could say you were speeding to pass a possibly drunk driver, or avoiding an accident by rapidly changing lanes. However, the argument won’t work if there’s proof you continued to speed after passing.
- Similar to the above, it could be argued that speeding was necessary to avoid harm. The key is to argue that if you weren’t speeding, you or someone else could have been harmed.
- Consult a traffic attorney, if all else fails. Many have free consultations to decide whether or not there’s a case.
Source: FindLaw
These fines apply to those who help organize the speed contests or exhibitions in question; Marinelli and Duran are looking to make them even harsher come 2026.
On repeat offenses, a vehicle can be immobilized for anywhere from 14 to 30 days, and must pay a daily $35 fee during this period and up to two weeks after until they retrieve their vehicles.
Vehicles not retrieved within this final two-week period are considered abandoned and will be sold by the police.
Removing the immobilization equipment illegally nets punishment equal to those of speed exhibitions.
STREET RACING RETALIATION
Beyond Colorado, some states are going as far as to install speed-limiting technology in some offenders’ cars.
Other states have taken a similar approach to Colorado by making penalties much harsher.
California did the same in July, to the tune of fines up to $5,000 and/or up to six months in jail.
