Bill to Crack Down on Street Racing and Illegal Sideshows Signed by Governor

SACRAMENTO, CA — Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2000, which will prohibit street racing and sideshows from occurring in parking lots across the state. The bipartisan measure, authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D – Woodland Hills), aims to crack down on dangerous driving—including street racing, “sideshows,” and street takeovers—which continue to cause injuries and fatalities across California.

“Far too frequently, street racing and illegal sideshows devastate families, harm innocent bystanders, and cut short young lives,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel. “Communities in the San Fernando Valley and across California are sick and tired of this reckless behavior. I’m grateful for Governor Newsom’s leadership on cracking down on this dangerous activity and signing this commonsense measure that will save lives across our state.”

“AB 2000 will help us save lives, and prevent further crashes and drivers going to prison for manslaughter,” said Lili Trujillo, Founder and Executive Director of Street Racing Kills, a non-profit created in 2014 after Trujillo’s 16-year-old daughter, Valentina, was killed in a street racing incident. “An exhibition of speed in a parking lot is way too common now and people are being hurt and killed, AB 2000 is definitely a great tool to help us save lives.”

“There are countless stories every week throughout California about illegal street races and dangerous sideshows shutting down streets, causing accidents, damaging neighborhoods, and endangering lives,” said Assemblymember Vince Fong (R – Kern County), a joint author of the measure. “They are unpredictable, destructive, and can lead to senseless deaths that devastate families. AB 2000 is an important and needed step in cracking down on illegal sideshows to make our communities safer.”

Across the state, COVID-19 has caused a sharp rise in illegal street racing activity as drivers took advantage of roads emptied by stay-at-home orders. In 2020, the California Highway Patrol responded to more than 25,000 calls involving illegal street racing activity statewide, an alarming increase of more than 3,500 calls from the year before.

In Southern California, street racing and sideshows have become extremely popular. In August and October of 2021,  respectively, a Calabasas teen was among three people killed by apparent street racers in a three-vehicle collision in Burbank caused by street racing, and a Woodland Hills woman was killed and seven others were injured after a driver lost control while racing. Just last week, police arrested three dozen people at several illegal street takeovers in and around Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

Statewide law enforcement groups have identified driver’s license suspensions as an effective tool for the deterrence of illegal street racing activity. Expanding on AB 3, which was signed into law last year, AB 2000 allows courts to issue a driver’s license suspension for the exhibition of motor vehicle speed during a sideshow taking place in a parking lot—an area not currently covered under the law—and thereby helps to further deter individuals from engaging in these dangerous activities.

Editors notes

“This bill would also make it a crime for a person to engage in a motor vehicle speed contest in an offstreet parking facility or an exhibition of speed in an offstreet parking facility, or to aid or abet therein. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.“

Previous stories:

• July 11, 2022: Oakley to Discuss Fines for Fine Sideshow and Street Racing Spectators
• May 18, 2022: State Assembly Advances Bill to Crack Down on Street Racing and Illegal Sideshows
• May 16, 2022: Antioch Mayor Says Council Will Take Up Policy to Target Sideshow Spectators
• May 3, 2022: Pittsburg City Council Agrees to Fine Sideshow and Street Racing Spectators
• Oct. 8, 2021 –  Fong’s Bill to Crack Down on Illegal Sideshows Now Signed into Law
• July 23, 2020: Letter: Barbanica Highlights Solution Aimed to Reduce Sideshows in Antioch District 2