Saskatoon police doled out dozens of tickets and seized several vehicles over the weekend following complaints about car meets.
The Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) said over the past few months, they’ve received many complaints about car meets, leading to concerns about noise, aggressive driving and physical distancing during a pandemic.
“It’s not only dangerous for the motoring public when they’re racing on the streets, but it’s particularly dangerous for those in the parking lots that are standing around as spectators,” said Staff Sgt. Devon Racicot, head of the traffic section.
“If one of those… drivers lose control, the crowd is in such proximity to the actual stunting event or the racing that… tragedy could strike.”
Instances of dangerous driving increase every time the snow melts, he said, but the numbers increased dramatically this spring.
The SPS received about 25 dangerous driving complaints last weekend alone.
“Likely, people were cooped up for a long time in their homes and the weather turned nice and it was just something that they could do in the absence of other activities,” Racicot told Global News in an interview.
Officers dropped by seven popular meeting spots over the weekend, mostly in the north industrial area and at new developments on the east side.
One gathering had about 140 vehicles, some of which were observed racing.
Police handed out 89 tickets and seized five vehicles for racing. One person was charged with dangerous driving, while a handful of others had their vehicles impounded.
Racicot said if drivers want to race, they can do so at the Saskatchewan International Raceway.
“They can do this stuff legally,” he said. “They don’t have to do it on the streets where they’re putting public safety at risk.”