Street takeovers: Ohio lawmakers vote to crack down on dangerous stunt driving

Ohio lawmakers voted Wednesday to increase penalties for people found guilty of stunt driving, street takeovers and attempting to flee law enforcement.

The bill targets irresponsible behavior associated with reckless driving. The practice, referred to as hooning, often involves drifting, donuts and wheelies in public spaces, with some occupants in unsafe areas in the vehicle such as hanging out of a window or trunk. The incidents often draw large crowds and block intersections.

Drivers sometimes are motivated by social media views. A video of cars spinning inside the Lytle Tunnel in Cincinnati on Sept. 30, 2023, blocking traffic on Interstate 71 has millions of views .

“It’s basically stunt car driving street racing type of things that’s happening all across the state of Ohio creating a very dangerous situation, putting their own lives at risk and certainly other lives at risk,” Sen. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, said before the Senate vote Wednesday.

Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo, said dangerous driving also causes damage to property and infrastructure.

“It also has an impact on municipal and local governments because doing some of these activities actually impacts the infrastructure, the pavement in some of these places,“ said Hicks-Hudson.

House Bill 56 sponsored by Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, and Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering, passed 31-0. It passed the House with overwhelming support in December and now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Street takeovers: Ohio lawmakers vote to crack down on dangerous stunt driving