Prince George’s County leaders have passed a new measure that is intended to end illegal street races on county streets.
Introduced by County Councilmember Wanika Fisher (District 2), County Bill-12-2026 would bar spectators from attending these events and assess fines that escalate based on the number of offenses.
“The time to act is now,” Fisher said in a May 4 press release, the day before the bill was signed. “Just last week, a young man was killed, and several other people were shot, following one of these illegal car rallies in Columbia, Md. Enough is enough. We need stricter penalties for anyone who attends one of these harmful gatherings. Nothing good comes of them and we have to get them out of our community.”
The legislation bars spectators from attending streetrace “takeovers,” illegal car rallies where participants block off public streets to perform stunts. Participation in these events is now punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 for a first offense. Fines would increase to $2,000 for the second offense and $3,000 for the third offense. The bill also aims to move county law in line with state law, signed by Gov. Wes Moore in 2024, issuing a similar punishment for participants of these types of illegal events, with even stricter penalties if anyone gets hurt.
The Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) supports this legislation, reporting that these events lead to violence, shootings, drug use and other dangerous activity. Officers anticipate even more of these dangerous events to take place throughout the summer, Fisher’s release said.
“These car rallies put a tremendous strain on the resources of the Prince George’s County Police Department, causing deployment throughout the county,” PGPD spokesperson Brian Fischer said at the May 5 press conference announcing the signing of the bill. “Since Jan. 1, we have dismantled over 40 of these car meetups. We’ve arrested 20 people. We’ve issued 100 traffic citations, and we have recovered 16 illegal firearms.”
