by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT – Participating in a street takeover could be more costly under the terms of a bill that cleared the state Senate Wednesday and now heads to the House of Representatives.
Senate Bill 1284, An Act Concerning the Illegal Use of Certain Vehicles and Street Takeovers, sets new penalties for street takeovers and other illegal activities, including permanent loss of a driver’s license for a third offense and the destruction of vehicles seized for violating municipal ordinances.
“This issue has been around now for a number of years,” said Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking member. “It’s just not a very productive form of recreation for individuals.”
Kissel said the street takeovers typically include numerous all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, and scooters and when municipalities seize those vehicles, the operators frequently are allowed to get them back.
Municipalities can auction seized vehicles, but then, Kissel said, they can wind up back in the hands of others who can then participate in another takeover.
“If we turn around and auction them, then they get in the hands of the troublemakers again,” he said. “Whereas if we can just destroy them, then that at least starts us from scratch.”
Kissel touted a provision in the bill that the municipality is required to give 30 days notice to the vehicle’s legal owner or the lien holder, giving them a chance to reclaim the vehicle.
“To me that’s enough due process,” he said.
Street takeovers typically include large numbers of vehicles shutting down a public street to perform various stunts. They also can include younger, unlicensed participants in vehicles that are not legal for use on streets, such as ATVs and dirt bikes. The stunts, performed for large numbers of spectators, create a dangerous situation, said Sen Paul Cicarella, R-North Haven.
“We’re taking meaningful action so there are consequences for the individuals that participate in this very dangerous activity,” he said. “And unfortunately, because there isn’t a deterrent, it’s emboldening these individuals to the point where they’re videotaping it and posting it. And we have to have a reaction to that.”
Republican Robert Sampson of Wolcott, the only senator to vote against the bill, questioned how municipalities would handle notifying a vehicle’s owner within the required 30 days if a street takeover participant had been operating a stolen vehicle.
In response, Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, said the bill allowed municipalities to set the destruction rule, and would leave it up to the municipality how to comply with the notification requirement.
Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, speaks about street takeovers during debate in the state Senate on May 7, 2025. Credit: Donald Eng / CT-N
“I would assume that the things they would be using to do that would be … the vehicle ID number, if one exists, license plate if that exists, and those type of things, building that into their ordinance … or they would not be in line with this bill,” he said.
Sampson said Winfield’s answer illustrated his concern.
“We’re not drafting that legislation. We’re not putting those requirements in … and there’s no penalty if it’s not achieved,” he said. “So we’re just leaving that in the hands of the various municipalities to generate how they’ll process that part.”