Starkville police and citizen want to cease street racing

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Revving engines and screeching tires is not what people expect to hear in their neighborhoods. Some homeowners in Starkville say their neighborhood streets or the streets nearby have become racetracks.

Some say it happens on the weekends or during the late-night hours and they want police to put the brakes on it. Starkville’s police chief Mark Ballard said his department has gotten numerous calls and complaints about drag racing on city streets.

“At the end of the day from the enforcement standpoint we’re going to do everything we can to ensure that people don’t put other lives in jeopardy,” said Ballard.

Ballard says this is not a new problem. He said complaints of cars racing on city streets had slowed down, but have begun to pick up again.

“As we’re coming off the winter and coming into warmer weather we’ve seen the crowds pick up once again the racing group seems to be recovering and launching again,” said Ballard.

Ballard believes most are trying to mimic what they’ve seen in popular movies that glorify drag racing.

“Eventually you want to test that speed so you see it in reality shows like outlaw drag racing you see it in fast and furious look statistically at the number of deaths that went across nationally after the release of fast and furious so it is a culture that embraces speed,” said Ballard

Chief Ballard says he feels most racing takes place on the highways, but one Starkville resident says he hears people racing on the streets he lives on.

“I hear it almost every night actually; I wouldn’t say it’s at a consistent time every night, but it’s very loud and I’m hearing it from inside my house,” said Starkville resident Mike Sanderson.

Sanderson said he worries about someone getting hurt- either the driver or an innocent bystander.

“There’s a lot of young children, young adults, and even elderly out here; so it would be ashamed if you know something like this continued to occur and more people got hurt as a result, ” said Sanderson.

Ballard says his officers are keeping an eye out for the fast cars and have a plan in place to slow them down.

“We’ve issued as many as 4 racing tickets 67 careless driving and wreckless related citations we’re also bringing in motorcycles, we’re trying to do heavy on education, and we’re also ensuring that our patrol shifts are armed with spike strips,” said Ballard.

The known of when racing will cease is unknown, but Ballard says he and his staff are on it to cease in town racing, and if you see it to report it.