Little Rock contemplates $1,000 fine for caravanning or drag racing

(Democrat-Gazette photo illustration)
(Democrat-Gazette photo illustration)

A draft ordinance against drag racing and caravanning that is expected to soon come before the Little Rock Board of Directors for approval would fine individuals up to $1,000 for an initial conviction, with the fine doubling for each subsequent offense, according to city records.

Since last year, city officials have made an effort to beat back the disruptive practice of large groups of drivers traveling through Little Rock, sometimes doing doughnuts or burnouts in parking lots as other people watch.

Incidents of gunfire also have been tied to drivers caravanning, including a shooting this week.

A Little Rock police spokesman said Sunday night that police were investigating the shooting of a man at Murray Park who sustained a non-life-threatening injury after people were believed to be caravanning at the park.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained a draft of the proposed caravanning ordinance through a public records request.

For continuous violations, the ordinance would assess an additional fine of up to $500 for each day the violation continues, according to the draft.

The ordinance specifically penalizes drag racing and caravanning, as well as a third category of behavior defined as vehicular trespass.

The measure describes vehicular trespass as when a driver "operates a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property" on a public highway or on a parking lot or surface belonging to a private business when the owner has posted signage that says the surface is forbidden outside business hours and has obtained a "Vehicular Trespass Permit" from the city allowing Little Rock officials to enforce the ordinance.

Permits would be provided free of charge, according to the draft ordinance.

In an email Monday, City Attorney Tom Carpenter was unable to confirm whether the draft is the version of the ordinance that will be brought before city directors.

"There have been requests for modifications, and there is an internal meeting set for later this week," Carpenter wrote. "There is one issue that we are continuing to research in light of other municipalities around the country. I think the desire is that this matter be available for the first meeting in April if at all possible. But, that is not an issue I control."

Carpenter said the drafting of the ordinance was handled primarily by Deputy City Attorneys Laurtaneous Johnson-Jarrett and Sherri Latimer.

"Chief Deputy City Attorney Alex Betton and I had some input prior to the drafting," Carpenter wrote.

One major issue, Carpenter said, was the ability to deal with activities on private property. He said he was still working through the ordinance's language Monday "to see if it gives the City the desired flexibility."

"Some states, for example Georgia, give express authority to municipalities (or at least some municipalities) to enforce traffic offenses on private property," Carpenter added.

Additionally, as the city works to finalize the proposed ordinance, Carpenter said the issue of continuous violations is under review as well.

Carpenter suggested that "if there was drag racing in a movie theater parking lot on Friday night[,] Saturday, and Sunday, the City might be able to approach it as a continuing violation and not have to issue three sets of citations for each day."

However, he said it is not clear whether assessing an additional fine for each day a situation continued could translate easily from a code enforcement framework to a criminal violation of the caravanning ordinance.

"As we finish a final draft, that is an issue we are reviewing," Carpenter wrote.

Elected city directors have repeatedly voiced concerns about increased caravanning and reckless driving, and a city ordinance to address the practice in Little Rock has been awaited for some time.

In late December, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. issued an amended emergency order to try to curb renewed instances of caravanning, saying the measure was a short-term solution while Carpenter prepared an ordinance to "give us some extra cover."

The mayor's order said the city could use its authority to take action to stop unsafe driving on paved or unpaved surfaces belonging to private businesses under certain conditions. Echoes of that language can be seen in the draft ordinance's description of vehicular trespass.

Scott's order was itself a followup to an executive order he issued in April that banned caravans of five or more vehicles.

State law already prohibits drag racing on a public road as well as observing a drag race.

Both are misdemeanors.

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