Illegal car racing: police and residents powerless?

Two kilometers of dead-straight road – especially on weekends, Bremen’s uberseestadt becomes a hotspot for car racers and poseurs. So bad that the first residents are considering moving away.

By philipp hennig, mirco seekamp

During the focus check on 20. May police recorded 24 violations, including a driver speeding at 128 km/h in the 50 zone. "We have noticed a steady growth of the scene in recent years", says police commissioner gerrit becker. especially due to the lifting of the corona curfew, the target groups of posers and speeders are to be found more often again.

Illegal street racing on their doorstep annoys residents. Retired couple kerstin hollmeyer and karl-heinz rusch are desperate: "it has to be adjusted somehow. Something has to happen first?"

"If someone runs into the street, it is of course stupid"

Police Commissioner Gerrit Becker

We have the opportunity to talk to one of the Bremen racers, but he does not want to give his name publicly. With 400 hp under the hood, he’s already rushed down the stretch at up to 160 km/h. In the 50 zone, mind you, he says. "This speed incentive, to be fast and see: i did this and my car got faster. It’s just a nice feeling."

He plays down the danger to others: "if that happens and someone runs into the street, it’s stupid, of course. You may not be able to live with peace of mind then. But I don’t know the person."

Up to five years in prison for dangerous driving

Legislation has made illegal street racing more punishable since 2017. The law provides for prison sentences of up to five years and fines for endangering drivers in such races alone.

Many federal states have now formed control groups, such as the "soko autoposer", who are increasingly taking notice of such violations. in lower saxony, the number of investigation procedures in the field of road racing has almost doubled from 2019 to 2020, to 200 procedures. Even in 2021, there have already been 114 proceedings so far. Final convictions, however, there are only twelve in 2019. Some of the drivers criticize these figures. One of them tells us: "the problem is that the police have quite a lot of leeway to see everything as racing. I think that is total nonsense."

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"The group is not there to race"

According to the police, two groups come together in the car scene: car lovers and speeders. We in oldenburg have also noticed this. At a meeting under the car bridge, one of the organizers, karla, tells us: "there are some in our group who race. But the group is not there to race. Our group is only about talking about cars and socializing." races are undesirable. Many drive tuned sports cars, others inconspicuous small vehicles. "It really doesn’t matter what you are, who you are, what you drive, it’s the enthusiasm of the cars that counts, explains one of the organizers, ramon.

Meeting in a parking lot in wilhelmshaven

In convoy they drive on to a big meeting in wilhelmshaven. Here, about 100 cars drive and stand on a parking lot in the industrial area. People honk their horns, sometimes drive too fast, or even make wild maneuvers in the parking lot, but many tell us they are careful not to endanger others. such meetings in parking lots exist everywhere in northern germany, and since the corona pandemic the number of participants has increased. "In the past we might have been with friends. Nothing can be done now. That’s why we just drive around", says a young man. A short time later, this event is broken up by the police because of the gathering during the pandemic. The police say that they have detected only a few speeding violations.

In Bremen’s uberseestadt district, the police want to continue to crack down on speeders and get a better handle on the situation by deploying civilian radio patrol cars. This is not enough for some residents. They’re considering moving away from here.

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