Winnipeg police show videos of street racing, dangerous driving at news conference on crackdown

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Peggy

The Winnipeg Police Service says a project targeting dangerous driving will help crack down on street racing in the city and prevent serious injury or death.

The 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.

Police received 37 calls regarding instances of vehicles racing, squealing tires and acts of dangerous driving in large parking lots in the central, southwest and northern border areas of Winnipeg between May 15 and Sept. 6, 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.

There has been a total of 22 fatal vehicle collisions this year — a number that is “far too high,” he said.

Several videos show people driving dangerously, including one where a person rides on the hood of a truck while it goes 120 km/h in a 50 zone, he said.

A police officer stands at a podium speaking into two microphones from the media during a news conference. — Insp. Max Waddell says street racing and dangerous driving in Winnipeg remain a top complaint in the city. (Gary Solilak/CBC)

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

On Sept. 7, police and RCMP set up a check stop near a location on Goldenrod Drive in the rural municipality of Rosser, just west of the city boundary, where 88 vehicles were gathered, Waddell said.

Police issued 65 tickets for offences under the Highway Traffic Act and vehicle equipment and safety inspections regulations, including driving without a licence, making unnecessary noise and driving carelessly. Five drivers were given serious offence notices.

“Saturday and Sunday nights have been a constant complaint over excessive noise,” Waddell said.

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

There’s an influx of cases during Winnipeg’s cruise night, he said.

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

“It’s the idiots that sit in the parking lots alone on 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 and the west end.”