By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
New state laws cracking down on stunt driving could help the St. Joseph Police Department.
Police Chief Paul Luster says the legislature’s move to strengthen the careless and imprudent driving statutes to include stunt driving and street takeovers gives more teeth to the law.
“The legislature’s taken it very seriously, which is good,” Luster tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “We’ve had some issues here in St. Joe pop up and we really try to stay ahead of those, because of the danger that those activities create to just the general public.”
The Missouri legislature approved the enhancements during this year’s legislative session. It applies to the whole state, but the major metropolitan areas have experienced an increase in stunt driving and street racing.
“Kansas City and St. Louis, I think even Springfield, has had a lot of trouble with it where they’ll take over a whole street; emergency responders can’t get through, firetrucks, ambulances, police can’t get through. And then, I know, Kansas City’s even had some problems with some violence at those events. Someone gets mad and a gun comes out and there’s a lot of people around and so, it’s behavior you definitely don’t want,” according to Luster. “So, I think it was really actually a good piece of legislation.”
Luster says the biggest problem in St. Joseph normally consists of motorcyclists attempting stunts up and down the Belt Highway. He says one group planned some stunt riding in the former K-Mart parking lot near the intersection of Belt Highway and Gene Field Road.
“Big parking lot. Business isn’t there. They thought that might be a good parking lot to really do some stunt driving in,” Luster says. “We just kind of met them at the beginning of it and said we’re not going to have that. We got ahold of the property owner. He didn’t want it, obviously, on his property. And so, we were able to end it before it starts.”
Luster says there is a place for street racing, it’s just not on city streets.
“There are legitimate motor sports events that are sanctioned at venues that are properly set up for those and that’s where stuff like that needs to occur not out on the public roadways.”
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