The Fulton County Commission unanimously voted Wednesday to create an ordinance that targets those who gather to watch illegal street racing and driving exhibitions.
Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman, who represents part of southern Fulton and brought forward the county ordinance, said this is an issue of public safety. Abdur-Rahman has said she’s seen the tail end of an exhibition where a driver doing doughnuts barely missed spectators.
“This is to keep someone from losing an arm, a leg or an eye,” she said Wednesday.
The new law punishes the hundreds of attendees who learn where and when to gather often from social media posts.
Abdur-Rahman first publicly discussed the measure two weeks ago, days before Gov. Brian Kemp voiced support for new penalties against anyone organizing, promoting or participating in street racing.
The Fulton law only applies to the roughly 7-mile stretch of unincorporated land along Fulton Industrial Boulevard. But Fulton police’s Chief Wade Yates told commissioners two weeks ago that those commercial roads are exactly what need attention because they are straight and wide — making them ideal for racing and exhibitions.
“We rarely are able to catch the racers or the person doing the exhibition and we have all these spectators that current law doesn’t give us any way to deal with, so this ordinance would allow us to cite people simply for coming to a location to watch this illegal event,” Yates said previously.
Roswell, Sandy Springs and South Fulton have passed their own versions of the law. The city of Atlanta, which has the biggest problem with street racing, approved a version of the measure in August.
Credit: WSBTV Videos
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