Tougher penalties on street racing advance

Street racing enthusiasts will be facing tougher penalties if SB193, which the Senate approved on its second reading Monday, is ultimately passed into law.

Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake, sponsor of the bill, amended it on the floor to make the penalty for street racing a class B misdemeanor instead of a class C. The bill also allows law enforcement to impound an offender's car and calls for the suspension of the driver's license for 60 days on a first offense and 90 days for each subsequent offense.

St. George Republican Bill Hickman expressed concern about the possibility of the police getting overzealous in enforcement of the law.

"It's somewhat of a subjective call of whether (drivers) were racing or whether they were going 10 miles per hour above (the speed limit)," Hickman said.

But Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, said that because the law is a misdemeanor, and would therefore have to be prosecuted, the legal process would force police to practice restraint.

The Senate must approved the bill one more time before it is sent to the House.