Monterey Police to crack down on street racing this weekend

Monterey Police Department officers are cracking down on speeders and drag racing in their city as Car Week comes to a close this weekend.

Police say drag racing and speeding was a major problem during last year’s Exotics on Cannery Row event.

Monterey Police Lieutenant Michael Bruno says some exotic car drivers see the tunnel on Lighthouse Avenue as a sort of race track.

“So they’ll stop and they’ll wait for traffic to clear the area, and then once the traffic clears, they’ll race each other through the tunnel,” he said.

Last year, police saw an increase of drivers with sports cars that would close down that tunnel and race. The speed limit is 35 miles per hour, but it is not uncommon for police to stop people going 65-70 miles per hour through there.

“It’s kind of a long straightaway, so people think that they can go pretty quick,” said Bruno. “But then there’s a curve right around there, and we’ve had a lot of crashes in the past with people coming out too quickly.”

This year, police are increasing their presence in areas where they have seen racing. But the extra patrols are city-wide.

“Anywhere where they’re able to stop traffic and have enough room where they can show off their cars. They have very fast cars, right? And they’re very loud and a lot of people like to watch them,” said Bruno. “So what ends up happening is they try to put on a show for people.”

“They’re cool cars to look at, it’s fine to drive them. But you still need to follow the rules because there are a lot of people, there are kids, and I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” said Catherine Winter, a Monterey County resident visiting Cannery Row on Friday.

Close to 20 police officers from Monterey are scheduled to work Saturday’s events. A show of force to make sure streets stay safe.

“If they are caught drag racing, they will be issued a citation. It could result in suspension of their license as well as their vehicle can be towed,” said Bruno.

If you see any drag racing in Monterey, police encourage you to call them on their non-emergency line and report it: 831-646-3914.