Racing on a Highway and Street Takeovers in Florida: Charges and Defense

By Daniel D. Nawara, Sarasota criminal and DUI defense attorney. Last updated October 5, 2026.

Florida treats street racing and street takeovers as crimes, not traffic tickets. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor with a mandatory one-year license revocation, and the law reaches well beyond the drivers: passengers, organizers and even people filming can be charged. Repeat offenses are felonies.

This page explains what section 316.191, Florida Statutes, covers, the penalties, and how these charges are defended.

What the law covers

The statute prohibits driving in a race, drag race, street takeover, stunt driving, speed competition or exhibition of speed on a highway, roadway or parking lot. It also covers people who:

participate in, coordinate, facilitate or collect money for one of these events, including through social media
knowingly ride as a passenger
purposefully slow or stop traffic for it
operate a vehicle to film or record the participants
carry fuel for the vehicles involved

Key definitions

Race: using one or more vehicles in competition to outgain or outdistance another vehicle, or to keep another vehicle from passing.
Drag race: two or more vehicles starting side by side and accelerating to outdistance each other.
Street takeover: blocking or impeding traffic on a road or parking lot to perform a race, burnout, doughnut, drifting, wheelie or other stunt.
Stunt driving: burnouts, doughnuts, drifting, wheelies or other dangerous activity performed as part of a street takeover.
Coordinated street takeover: 10 or more vehicles operated in an organized manner to carry one out.

Penalties

First violation: first-degree misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail, a fine of $500 to $2,000, and a 1-year license revocation.
Second violation within 1 year of a prior conviction: third-degree felony, a fine of $2,500 to $4,000, and a 2-year revocation.
Third or later violation within 5 years: second-degree felony, a fine of $3,500 to $7,500, and a 4-year revocation.
Coordinated street takeover: third-degree felony, a fine of $2,500 to $4,000, and a 2-year revocation.
Knowingly impeding an emergency vehicle during a violation: third-degree felony; a second-degree felony for a repeat.
Spectators: a noncriminal traffic infraction with a $400 fine.

The license revocation follows the conviction. That is why how the case ends matters as much as the fine.

Your car

An officer can arrest without a warrant on probable cause and can have the vehicle impounded for 30 business days. In some repeat cases, and in coordinated takeovers, the State can seek to forfeit the vehicle. If the car belongs to someone else, such as a parent, the owner has rights in that process and should act quickly.

How these cases start

Two cars accelerating hard from a light, with an officer nearby
A burnout or a quick launch leaving a parking lot or car meet
A takeover at an intersection or lot, often with arrests made later from video
Social media posts and group chats used to identify drivers and organizers

How these charges are defended

It was not a race. The statute requires competition: an attempt to outgain, outdistance or block another vehicle. Two cars speeding near each other is not automatically racing. Speeding is a civil infraction.
The officer's vantage point. Many racing arrests rest on a few seconds of observation from a distance.
Who was driving. In video-based and after-the-fact cases, identifying the driver can be the whole case.
Knowledge. Passengers and spectators must be there knowingly. Being at a car meet that turns into something else is different from taking part.
The video. What it actually shows, who recorded it and whether it can be authenticated.
The outcome. In the right case the goal is a dismissal or a reduction to a charge that does not carry the mandatory revocation, such as a civil infraction. No outcome can be promised.

What to do if you are charged

Do not miss your court date. This is a criminal case.
Do not post about it, and do not delete posts or messages either.
Do not talk to police about who was there or who was driving.
Keep your paperwork for the vehicle impound and ask a lawyer about getting the car back.
Talk with a defense lawyer before your first court date.

Frequently asked questions

Is street racing a felony in Florida?

A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor. It becomes a felony for a second violation within 1 year of a prior conviction, a third within 5 years, a coordinated takeover, or impeding an emergency vehicle.

Will I lose my license for a first racing charge?

A conviction carries a mandatory 1-year revocation. Avoiding the conviction is the way to avoid the revocation.

Can I be charged for doing a burnout?

A burnout as part of a street takeover is covered as stunt driving. A burnout alone may be charged as an exhibition of speed or as reckless or careless driving, depending on the facts.

Can passengers be charged?

Yes, if they knowingly rode as a passenger in a race or takeover.

I was only watching. Can I get in trouble?

Knowingly being a spectator is a noncriminal infraction with a $400 fine.

Can the police take my car?

The vehicle can be impounded for 30 business days, and forfeiture is possible in some repeat and coordinated takeover cases.

Talk with a lawyer before your court date

Nawara Law defends racing, street takeover and other criminal traffic charges in Sarasota, Manatee and the surrounding counties. Call or text (941) 920-5514, nights and weekends too, or request a free consultation with former prosecutor Daniel D. Nawara.

General information only, not legal advice. No outcome is guaranteed. Contacting the firm does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship.