If you’ve driven on Courtney Campbell Causeway, there’s a good chance you’ve been sped past by street racers.
Frequent drivers of the causeway have watched the road become a hot spot for speed racing. Police have cited over 60 drivers since August and arrested half a dozen more in the last two months.
“No matter what you do, unfortunately, some people are still going to engage in that ridiculously dangerous behavior,” said Robert Shaw, Clearwater Police Department’s Public Information Officer. “A few seconds of speed is not worth losing your life or taking someone else’s.”
Because the causeway is a straight stretch of road, it’s accessible for street racers coming from either end. Construction on the Tampa side isn’t slowing the action, either.
A few weeks ago, police responded to a crash involving a motorcyclist driving over 100 mph on the causeway. The man slammed into the back of another vehicle traveling westbound. This is just one of many incidents police have dealt with.
Clearwater Police Department’s regular patrol units have been keeping an eye on the causeway. The traffic enforcement team has been conducting special details to enforce the law.
“The key thing that we would stress is to encourage other drivers that if they ever see anything happen along these lines, to call 911 so we can hopefully intervene and prevent tragedies from happening,” said Shaw.
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