Ala. legislators working to get exhibition driving bill in front of Governor Ivey

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - A recent exhibition driving display near Messer Airport Highway is reminding the community that this is still an issue in the Magic City.

One viewer shared the shocking video captured from a hotel room near an intersection just off the interstate. It shows exhibition driving continues to be a very real problem in Birmingham.

The city has placed speed bumps at popular intersections, but legislators hope a few pending bills will tackle the issue long term.

House Representative Juandalynn Givan is one of the legislators working to do just that. However, she recently got an up close look at the issue.

She was driving down Arkadelphia Road during the daytime when she says she drove up on some of the same antics we saw here over the weekend.

“It was pitch white, grey smoke. To the point that the fumes infiltrated my entire car and it just permeated throughout. I was terrified to say the least, and it takes a lot to scare me,” said House Representative Givan.

Representative Givan was so scared she even called fellow House member and bill sponsor Allen Treadaway to try and calm down. Both have proposed legislation to heighten consequences for exhibition drivers, as well as give law enforcement more tools to battle the issue.

“The bill is moving quickly, it came out of the House overwhelmingly with bipartisan support and I expect the same thing to happen up in the Senate,” said Representative Treadaway.

He believes that due to that support, at least one of the exhibition driving bills could be making our streets safer in the coming days.

“I would love to get this bill on the governor’s desk before the week is out. Give her the opportunity to sign it into law and give the tool to law enforcement to deal with this issue on a much more serious level than the current law allows.”

Representative Treadaway notes that if you encounter this driving, you should not approach it - stay back as far as you can. Treadaway hopes that once the legislation passes, this driving will be a thing of the past here in the Magic City.

The Birmingham Police Communications team says that the department is also working on an initiative to counter the dangerous driving and we will share more about that as details become available.

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