Press Releases
03/07/2025
Attorney General Tong Issues Testimony in Support of Increased Penalties for Illegal Street Takeovers and Reckless Driving
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong issued testimony today in support of S.B. 1284, An Act Concerning the Illegal Use of Certain Vehicles and Street Takeovers, which would enable municipalities to seize certain motor vehicles and increase penalties for those engaged in illegal street takeovers. Attorney General Tong has previously called for increased penalties for reckless driving, including temporary forfeiture of vehicles.
“There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t see someone driving recklessly on our roads and highways on my commute up to Hartford. From excessive speeding and reckless lane changes to distracted and intoxicated driving, this brazen lawlessness puts all of us at risk and cannot be tolerated,” Attorney General Tong states in his testimony.
Full testimony copied below.
Testimony in Support of
S.B. No. 1284, An Act Concerning The Illegal Use Of Certain Vehicles And Street Takeovers
Judiciary Committee
Friday, March 7th, 2025
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony in support of S.B. No. 1284 which aims to improve the safety of our roads and hold accountable those who endanger our lives through their reckless and lawless misbehavior.
There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t see someone driving recklessly on our roads and highways on my commute up to Hartford. From excessive speeding and reckless lane changes to distracted and intoxicated driving, this brazen lawlessness puts all of us at risk and cannot be tolerated. Street takeovers are the extreme celebration of this dangerous driving culture, where large groups of individuals flood entire roads with reckless speeding and weaving. This is not merely a disruption—this puts every other road user at risk, from drivers to pedestrians and cyclists and nearby neighbors.
We must do more to protect the safety of our roads, and I believe this bill is a step in the right direction. By enabling municipalities to instate ordinances related to street takeovers and give them the tools to seize, sell, or destroy certain types of motor vehicles and institute fines will increase accountability for those actively engaging in this type of behavior. I would urge the Committee to go a step further and subject extreme reckless drivers—those who exceed one-hundred miles per hour—to the temporary forfeiture of their vehicles.
For the reasons above, the Office of the Attorney General recommends that the Committee favorably report S.B. No. 1284.
For additional information, please contact Nate Kalechman, Director of Legislative Affairs for the Office of the Attorney General at Nathan.Kalechman@ct.gov.
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