Racing in Tampa Bay can be deadly. How big of a problem is it?

Whether it’s an organized event publicized on social media or simply two teens at a stop light with a point to prove, street racing in the Tampa Bay area has proved to be a dangerous pastime.

Street racing has played a role in several high-profile tragedies over the years, including an Ybor City crash earlier this month that killed four people and injured 13. It occurred minutes after police said a helicopter captured video of a Toyota Camry whizzing alongside another car on Interstate 275. Police relayed over the radio that the driver was “racing on the highway,” which led to a pursuit by the Florida Highway Patrol that ended with the crash.

In Pinellas County, a jury earlier this year convicted a 23-year-old motorcyclist for the 2023 death of a 13-year-old boy at a street racing event. The boy was crossing 28th Street North in St. Petersburg, a once-popular racing spot, when he was hit and killed by the motorcyclist, who was going more than 88 mph. The driver was sentenced to seven years in prison.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there have been 1,803 citations for street racing-related offenses in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties since 2018.

Local law enforcement agencies in recent years have launched a number of efforts to rein in organized street racing. Operation Keep Our Streets, a multiagency crackdown last year, aimed to curtail dangerous driving on the Gandy Bridge and the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

The operation resulted in hundreds of traffic citations and traffic warnings. It also led to five arrests for driving under the influence and two for street racing.

This coincided with a statelaw that went into effect last year that increased the maximum fines for those participating in street racing or roadway takeovers. The law made second violations a third-degree felonypunishable by up to a year in jail, and it raised fines for spectators from $60 to $400.

A 2022 law also enabled police to use social media posts from street takeovers to track down those involved based on the vehicles, license plates or people filmed.

Lt. Jason Levey, head of the St. Petersburg Police Department’s traffic section, said the city has seen little to no organized street racing since it launched enforcement operations after the 2023 crashthat killed the boy.

While there have been sporadic cases of racing offenses, Levey said it’s likely that street racing groups have simply moved to other parts of the state.

“We haven’t seen those big gatherings like we have in the past,” Levey said. “Unfortunately, I think it’s just been displaced.”

Records show St. Pete police have made nine arrests for racing so far this year, compared to 15 in 2024 and 19 in 2023.

“I just think you need to be out there and have a presence,” Levey said.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office made 17 arrests for racing in 2023 and nine in 2024.

Four have been made this year.

Tampa police made 10 arrests for “racing on highways” in 2023 and 15 last year.

According to Tampa Police Department records, 10 arrests for racing have been made so far this year.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office could not immediately provide data for its arrests on street racing-related charges.

Florida’s new “super speeder” law, which went into effect July 1, beefed up the penalties for driving 50 mph over the speed limit or over 100 mph in a manner that threatens others’ safety.

Instead of simply being issued a ticket, speeders are required to appear in court. Officers are also permitted to arrest those drivers on the spot.

A first conviction under the law can lead to a maximum of 30 days in jail, a $500 fine or both. A second conviction doubles the fine and can lead to up to 90 days in jail.

Offenders who violate the law twice within five years will have their license revoked for at least 180 days and up to one year.

While the law is designed to punish all types of extreme speeding, police believe it can be another way to deter street racing.

The law is “another tool in the belt” that St. Pete police have used in instances of speeding 15 times this year,Levey said.

Pinellas deputies have arrested five speeders under the law since its rollout.

Unplanned street racing, often instigated by the revving of engines in a show of machismo, is a phenomenon law enforcement has found more difficult to combat.

“It’s very hard for police to nail down when it’s spontaneous,” said Lili Trujillo Puckett, executive director of the national nonprofit Street Racing Kills.

Puckett founded the advocacy organization after her 16-year-old daughter was killed in a street racing incident in California in 2013. She commends efforts by law enforcement and state legislatures to curb street racing, but she says educating young drivers about the consequences for communities is crucial.

“It’s just about winning,” Puckett said of street racing. “It’s not about if I’m going to come back home.”

Puckett pointed to the influence of social media and the ease with which young people can modify cars as factors contributing to the problem.

According tostate data, almost 70% of all street racing-related citations were issued to people between the ages of 16 and 24.

“There’s a lot being done,” Puckett said. “But we need to do more.”