Videos show reckless driving including racing, person riding on hood of speeding SUV: Winnipeg police

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Peggy

The Winnipeg Police Service issued 65 tickets on one night during a crackdown on dangerous driving, after video captured examples of reckless behaviour like street racing and a person riding on the hood of a speeding vehicle, police say.

The police service’s West District community support unit started tracking a group of car enthusiasts in the spring — through an investigation dubbed Project Stunt Driving — who were seen driving in a dangerous manner, Insp. Max Waddell said at a news conference Wednesday.

Between mid-May and Sept. 6, police received 37 calls regarding instances of vehicles racing and squealing tires, and acts of dangerous driving in large parking lots in central and southwest Winnipeg, as well as northern border areas of the city, Waddell said.

“Investigators obtained video of a motorcycle travelling along the Southwest Rapid Transit corridor at speeds of 189 km/h in a 30 km/h zone, passing civilians waiting for a bus,” he said, noting non-transit traffic isn’t allowed on that corridor.

Following the complaints, Winnipeg police, with assistance from RCMP, set up a checkpoint on the night of Sept. 7 near a location on Goldenrod Drive, in the rural municipality of Rosser, just northwest of the city boundary.

There were 88 vehicles gathered there, Waddell said, many of which were committing highway traffic infractions that were captured on video.

Black and white video surveillance shows three vehicles circling another vehicle in a parking lot. — Video surveillance released by the Winnipeg Police Service on Wednesday shows three car enthusiasts taunting and circling a security worker in a parking lot, preventing the worker from doing their job, Insp. Max Waddell said at a news conference. (Winnipeg Police Service)

Police issued 65 tickets that night for offences under the Highway Traffic Act and vehicle equipment and safety inspections regulations, including driving without a licence or registration, making unnecessary noise or smoke, failing to display a licence plate, driving while disqualified and driving with an obstructed view.

“We had six that were charged with driving carelessly — that’s one of the most significant offences you can get through the Highway Traffic Act,” Waddell said.

Five drivers were given serious offence notices.

“Someone is going to seriously get hurt and hopefully not lose their life,” he said. “We hope that this enforcement initiative will remind those who engage in reckless driving behaviour that they will be held accountable.”

So far this year, there have 22 fatal vehicle collisions — a number that is “far too high,” said Waddell. He couldn’t confirm whether any of these fatal collisions were related to stunt driving.

120 km/h in 50 zone

Several videos presented during the news conference showed other examples of people driving dangerously, including one — timestamped Aug. 18 — where a person rides on the hood of an SUV while it goes 120 km/h in a 50 zone, said Waddell.

Other videos showed three people purposely taunting and circling an on-site security vehicle in a parking lot to prevent the worker from doing their job, Waddell said. Another video showed a truck doing doughnuts in a different location surrounded by spectators, he said.

“This vehicle is a very heavy vehicle, and if at any time it had caught any type of debris or unevenness in the concrete, it could have been just thrown right into those individuals who are just standing there,” Waddell said.

A police officer answers questions from reporters while standing at a podium. — Insp. Max Waddell says street racing and dangerous driving in Winnipeg remain a top complaint in the city, during a news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Darin Morash/CBC)

He said no one shown in the videos has been charged because they have not been identified by police.

Police are working closely with owners of the parking lots to review video surveillance to “thwart this unwanted behaviour,” he said.

The majority of the incidents happened between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., “amplifying frustration amongst Winnipeg residents due to excessive noise and safety concerns,” Waddell said.

There has been an influx of noise complaints on weekend nights, including Winnipeg’s Sunday cruise night, during which a small group of car enthusiasts ages 16 to 49 are involved with acts of dangerous driving, said Waddell.

Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) said residents in his ward have been calling police daily to report instances of dangerous driving.

“It’s not all cruise night goers,” Duncan said at the news conference.

“It’s the idiots that sit in the parking lots along Portage Avenue that are revving their engines, that are ripping down Portage Avenue, that don’t care about anybody but their cars and themselves. These people are making life miserable for residents in Winnipeg, in the West End.”

Waddell said Project Stunt Driving’s investigations have concluded, since most specialty cars will now be stored away for the winter, but that police will take action as required.