Peel cops take direct aim at street racing in Mississauga and Brampton

Police are stepping up efforts to stamp out street racing in Mississauga and Brampton.

The illegal activity not only poses a threat to the safety of those behind the wheel of racing vehicles, but it endangers the lives of everyone on the road, officers with Peel Regional Police say.

Armed with a “zero tolerance” approach to such dangerous driving, Peel police are launching Project Noisemaker and ERASE on May 1, an annual enforcement initiative directly targeting both illegal street racers and “excessively loud vehicles” that create noise pollution.

“For the next six months, these ongoing projects will target street racing activities in Peel and motor vehicles with modified and/or excessively loud exhaust systems on the roads,” Peel police said in a news release. “Drivers are reminded that they will be subject to charges and penalties for offences under the Highway Traffic Act and breaking municipal bylaws, and (they) could face seizure of their vehicles and a roadside suspension of their driver’s licence.”

Police note the six-month campaign is an additional effort to stamp out dangerous driving as officers on the road already target such offenders “24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Also, police say, vehicle owners should repair modified exhaust systems, avoid altering factory-issued parts on vehicles that increase sound and ensure their vehicles comply with regulations under the Highway Traffic Act.

Police are also asking for the public’s help during the enforcement campaign–and year-round.

They urge anyone with information concerning aggressive driving or street racing activities to call police at 905-453-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Driving complaints can also be filed through the Road Watch portal on the Peel police website.

While street racing numbers in Mississauga and Brampton were down last year compared to 2020, police say the illegal activity still poses a significant danger to the public.

Typically, groups of street racers show up in large numbers to race in industrial areas in Peel and across the GTA late Friday and Saturday nights from about May to the end of October, police say.

That’s why Peel police have been working for years with Toronto and York officers, and the OPP, in addition to other law enforcement agencies on occasion as part of a joint-forces effort dubbed Project ERASE (Eliminating Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere).