Alabama lawmakers today passed a bill to make it easier for police to seize vehicles involved in exhibition driving and street racing, an issue that’s plagued Birmingham.

If Gov. Kay Ivey signs HB 474 into law, police will be allowed to use video footage and photos as evidence to impound a vehicle and hold it for a minimum of 48 hours.

Under current Alabama law, police officers must personally witness the exhibition driving or street racing and then stop and identify the driver.

“Law enforcement can really start clamping down on these type of violators that are putting the public at risk,’’ said state Rep. Allen Treadaway, a former assistant police chief in Birmingham. “It really is a huge piece of enforcement because this type of activity is putting lives in danger, and we’ve already lost lives.”

Treadaway and Sen. Rodger Smitherman sponsored the bill after multiple instances of dangerous exhibition driving in Birmingham.

The Birmingham Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center – which has cameras strategically placed throughout the city – as well as other video, such as footage from body-worn cameras and cameras mounted in patrol vehicles – will now be able to use that footage instead of only witnesses who saw the crime in person. The video can be used to seize the vehicle because it’s involved in criminal activity.

“So right now, because of public safety, there is a pursuit policy in most cities that do not pursue individuals committing this violation,’’ Treadaway said. “But we’re capturing video of the vehicle, the tag number, so it will allow investigators to identify the vehicles by use of video evidence and then seize them.”

“We may come to your job in a couple of hours, we may come that night, we may come the next morning, we may get it in two weeks, but police now have the power,’’ Treadaway said.

Mayor Randall Woodfin joined members of the Jefferson County legislative delegation in November 2022 to announce plans to file a bill to prohibit and impose penalties for certain forms of “exhibition driving,” which includes street and drag racing, burnouts, donuts, and similar activities defined within the bill.

That legislation was passed and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey last year.

Previously, drivers could only get a ticket.

Now, they face a minimum of misdemeanor charges, and up to a Class B felony if someone is injured or killed, or if there is property damage.

Exhibition driving includes motor vehicle speed contests, exhibitions of speed, sideshows, burnouts, donuts, and other reckless driving maneuvers.

Treadaway said law enforcement agencies have been making effective cases under the exhibition driving laws.

Birmingham police over the past month have carried out several rounds of Operation Knight Rider, making multiple arrests and impounding numerous vehicles.

By being able to use video evidence to seize the vehicles, Treadaway said, investigators will have more time to determine who was involved and to what extent.

More than 40 percent of vehicle seized under the state’s new exhibition driving law have been reported stolen, Treadaway said. Officers will now have a new tool to help return those stolen cars to their owners.

“Law enforcement can really start clamping down on these type of violators that are putting the public at risk,” Treadaway said. “It really is a huge piece of enforcement because this type of activity is putting lives in danger, and we’ve already lost lives.”

Woodfin released this statement following the passage of HB 474:

“Birmingham’s response to illegal and deadly exhibition driving continues each week with more arrests and vehicles towed,’’ the mayor said. “While police are committed to enforcing the laws, the additional tool of cameras to halt this criminal activity will make a major impact.”

“I want to personally thank the leadership of the House and Senate, the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation and bill sponsors Rep. Allen Treadaway and Sen. Rodger Smitherman,’’ he said. “The streets of Birmingham and cities across the state will be safer with this law.”