Street racers, stunt drivers and loud cars targeted by cops in Mississauga and Brampton
Published May 1, 2023 at 1:07 pm
Street racers in Mississauga and Brampton are once again being directly targeted by Peel cops, who this week launched their annual six-month campaign to clamp down on the illegal and dangerous behaviour.
The illegal activity not only poses a threat to the safety of those behind the wheel of racing vehicles, but it endangers the lives of everyone on the road, officers with Peel Regional Police say.
To directly address street racing and related activities, and the noise pollution from excessively loud vehicles on the roads, Project Noisemaker and ERASE took to the streets today (May 1).
Armed with a “zero tolerance” approach to dangerous driving and loud cars, officers involved in the annual enforcement initiative say they’ll be aggressively targeting offenders.
The campaign concludes in early November.
“For the next six months, these ongoing projects will target street racing activities in Peel and motor vehicles with modified and/or excessively loud exhaust systems on the roads,” Peel police said in a news release. “Drivers are reminded that they will be subject to charges and penalties for offences under the Highway Traffic Act and breaking municipal bylaws, and (they) could face seizure of their vehicles and a roadside suspension of their driver’s licence.”
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Police note the six-month campaign is an additional effort to stamp out dangerous driving as officers on the road already target such offenders “24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Also, police say, vehicle owners should repair modified exhaust systems, avoid altering factory-issued parts on vehicles that increase sound and ensure their vehicles comply with regulations under the Highway Traffic Act.
Police are also asking for the public’s help during the enforcement campaign–and year-round.
They urge anyone with information concerning aggressive driving or street racing activities to call police at 905-453-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Driving complaints can also be filed through the Road Watch portal on the Peel police website.
Street racing in Mississauga and Brampton poses a significant danger to the public, police say.
Typically, groups of street racers show up in large numbers to race in industrial areas in Peel and across the GTA late Friday and Saturday nights from about May to the end of October, police say.
That’s why Peel police have been working for years with Toronto and York officers, and the OPP, in addition to other law enforcement agencies on occasion as part of a joint-forces effort dubbed Project ERASE (Eliminating Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere).
Of particular concern to police the past several months has been a large group of street racers and stunt drivers taking part in the illegal activity at Westwood Square shopping mall in the Malton area of Mississauga.
However, police and municipal politicians say the problem is not only occurring in that area, but across Mississauga and Brampton.
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