Illegal car races ever more common on Czech roads

Illegal car races have become increasingly popular on Czech roads. While wealthy drivers in expensive sports cars speed through the country, high on adrenalin, the Czech police have come under criticism for being unable to bring illegal racing under control.

“One hundred and twenty thrill-seeking entrepreneurs; six action-packed days and nights; seven European countries; one exclusive super-car ride – this is Carbon Black.” A promotional video by the UK-based organizers of one of the illegal races which recently passed through the Czech Republic highlights the glamour, the thrills and the good looks of the models who attend such events. But drivers on Czech roads find this pastime somewhat less attractive. Last week, one angry driver called Czech Radio’s traffic news programme while finding himself in the midst of speeding sports cars on a small road in western Moravia.

“I’m driving towards Meziříčí and one of those drivers is right in front of me! And another one comes from behind. They’re driving like mad! It’s absolutely crazy! I’m driving 90; they must be doing at least 150!”

Gumball, Diamond Race and Carbon Black Rally are some of the races that have recently taken place in the Czech Republic. The police say about 10 such races have been planned this year, claiming they are out in force for each event. The head of the traffic police Martin Červíček told Czech Radio that they are considering adopting new measures to get illegal racing under control.

“We are following the letter of the law and we can, under certain circumstances, even confiscate drivers’ licences but it always depends on what kind of offence the driver has committed. The police evaluate each such incident; and it’s very likely that we’ll adopt some system measures to enforce traffic rules even more effectively.”

But the police chief has not disclosed what these new measures will be. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, some 30 cars taking part in another illegal race were driving along the motorway between Prague and Brno heading east. The police were patrolling a stretch of the D1 motorway near Brno, and collected 10,000 crowns, or over 570 US dollars, in speeding tickets. But other cars, reportedly driving well above the 130 km per hour speed limit, got away. Pavel Kuchálik, of the Central Automotoclub of the Czech Republic, says the police do not need any special tools to combat the problem.

“I don’t believe that the police need to adopt any special measures. We have laws, we have traffic rules and they should apply to everybody. I think it would be enough if these laws were enforced on all drivers, including the ones who take part in these races.”

Mr Kuchálik also believes that the inability of the police to prevent illegal racing on Czech roads is one of the reasons why these races keep coming back.