Street Racing Lawyer In Beaumont, TX
Texas has no offense called street racing. The charge is racing on a highway under Transportation Code § 545.420, and this page covers what counts as a race, the penalty levels, how these cases are defended and how they move through Jefferson County.
What Is Street Racing In Texas?
Texas has no statute titled street racing. The offense is racing on a highway under Transportation Code § 545.420, which covers a race, speed contest, drag race, endurance test or exhibition of speed or acceleration. A first offense is a Class B misdemeanor, and the charge becomes a felony when someone is hurt as a result.
Source: Texas Transportation Code Chapter 545, Operation and Movement of Vehicles
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Street Racing?
Section 545.420 of the Transportation Code makes it an offense to participate in any manner in one of five things on a highway or road. The charging document will name which item the state relies on.
- A race
- A vehicle speed competition or contest
- A drag race or acceleration contest
- A test of the physical endurance of the operator of a vehicle
- An exhibition of vehicle speed or acceleration, or an attempt to set a speed record
What the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The person took part in one of the listed activities
- It happened on a highway or road as the statute defines it
- For higher levels, a prior conviction, intoxication or an open container, or an injury
The definitions are wider than the word race.
A drag race is two or more vehicles accelerating side by side in a competitive attempt to outdistance each other, or one or more vehicles running a common course to compare speed or acceleration over a set distance or time.
A race is using one or more vehicles to outgain or outdistance another, to keep another from passing, to arrive at a destination ahead of another, or to test endurance over a long route.
Nobody has to agree to a wager or draw a starting line. The question is what the evidence shows about contest or exhibition.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Street Racing In Texas?
Section 545.420 has five levels. The first three depend on the driver's record and condition. The top two depend on whether anyone was hurt and are covered on the street racing with bodily injury page. These are statutory limits, not predictions.
Up to 180 days in jail and $2,000.
Under § 521.350.
- First offense
- Class B misdemeanor. Up to 180 days in county jail and a fine up to $2,000, plus court costs.
- One prior, or intoxicated, or open container
- Class A misdemeanor. Up to one year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000.
- Two priors
- State jail felony. 180 days to two years in a state jail and a fine up to $10,000.
- Someone is injured
- Third degree felony for bodily injury. Second degree felony for serious bodily injury or death.
- Vehicle
- Impounded to a licensed storage facility at the owner's expense, unless it is held as evidence.
- License
- Automatic one year suspension on conviction under Transportation Code § 521.350, plus court-ordered community service.
Insurance cost and the criminal record can follow a conviction. Both are worth weighing before any plea.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Street Racing In Texas?
Are two fast cars on the same road automatically racing?
Can a bystander or helper be charged?
Can a car meet or takeover lead to charges?
Does the car come back after an arrest?
Can a driver avoid the one year suspension?
Possible Defenses
How Can Street Racing Be Defended?
Fast is not the same as competing. Two cars travelling quickly on the same road are not automatically in a race, and the state has to connect the driving to a contest, competition or exhibition.
An attorney reviews what the state can prove about that link, who participated and what the video shows. No result can be promised.
Interaction between the vehicles is the heart of the case.
- Whether the vehicles interacted, or only happened to be near each other
- How long the officer watched, from what distance and with what view
- Patrol and body camera video, radar readings and pacing records
- Phone video and social media posts about a meetup
Constitutional issues include the stop, any search of the vehicle or phone and any statement.
Contest Or Just Speed
Were the vehicles actually interacting, or only travelling near each other?
The Officer's View
How long, and from where, did the officer watch the driving?
Video And Radar
What do patrol video and any radar or pacing record actually show?
Posts And Messages
Do social media posts or texts prove a contest, or something else?
Alleged Priors
Do any claimed prior convictions qualify for a higher level?
The Impound
Was the car properly impounded or held, and can it be released?
Local Process
What Happens After A Street Racing Arrest In Jefferson County?
A racing case with no injury is a misdemeanor in the county's misdemeanor courts. When an injury is alleged, it becomes a felony and moves to the district courts. The impound happens at the arrest, and the license suspension follows only a conviction.
Arrest And Impound
The driver is arrested, and the vehicle is towed to a licensed storage facility unless it is held as evidence.
Bond And First Appearance
After booking, a magistrate sets bond, and the person is given a court date.
Discovery
The defense can ask for the state's evidence, including video, under art. 39.14.
Resolution
The case ends in dismissal, a plea or trial. A felony level goes to a grand jury first.
- Where a misdemeanor is filed
- Filed in one of the Jefferson County Courts at Law, with the prosecuting office identified by prosecutors in Jefferson County.
- Where a felony is heard
- Presented to a grand jury and, if indicted, heard in the district courts at the Jefferson County Courthouse on 1085 Pearl Street. The Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney's Office prosecutes felonies.
- Who makes the arrest
- Beaumont Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Port Arthur Police Department, Nederland Police Department, Port Neches Police Department, or Groves Police Department.
- Booking
- Arrestees from every law enforcement agency in the county are booked into the county's jail system.
- If the case is appealed
- the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
An officer who watched a drive that included weaving at speed may file reckless driving instead of or beside racing, and evading arrest can be added if the driver kept going after a signal to stop. Some racing stops happen in the towns near Port Arthur, Nederland, Port Neches, Groves, Nome, China, Bevil Oaks, Fannett, and Hamshire, and the agency that makes the stop changes where the paperwork starts, not the offense. A driver also accused of drinking faces a second case, explained on the DWI court process page.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After A Street Racing Arrest?
These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Locate Your Vehicle
Learn which storage facility holds it and what the daily fees are.
Do Not Delete Posts
Deleting can look worse. Talk to a lawyer about what is online first.
Write Down What Happened
Record the road, the other vehicles and what you saw.
Keep The Paperwork
Save the citation, bond, tow and storage papers.
Ask About Your License
Before pleading, ask how a conviction would affect it.
Keep It To Yourself
Do not talk about the event with others or online.
Speaking with a lawyer before you decide anything can make the options clearer. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential consultation about racing charges in Jefferson County.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Transportation Code Chapter 545: Racing on a highway, § 545.420
- Texas Transportation Code Chapter 521: License suspension, § 521.350
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 42: Obstructing a highway and reckless driving exhibitions, § 42.03
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Punishment for misdemeanors and felonies
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
- Texas Department of Public Safety: Driver license suspension and reinstatement
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Beaumont trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Related Traffic Charges
Other Criminal Traffic Charges In Beaumont, TX
A racing allegation often travels with other driving charges, and an injury changes its level entirely. See the full Traffic Violations defense overview for Beaumont.
Evading Arrest
Running from an officer on foot is a misdemeanor. Doing it in a vehicle is a felony.
Failure To Stop And Give Information
Leaving a collision that damaged a vehicle without exchanging information. A Class B misdemeanor once damage reaches $200.
Failure To Stop And Render Aid
Leaving a collision where someone was hurt or killed, graded by the worst injury.
Reckless Driving
Driving in wilful or wanton disregard for safety. A criminal charge that can bring an arrest, not a ticket paid by mail.
Street Racing With Bodily Injury
When a race on a public road injures or kills someone, § 545.420 makes it a third or second degree felony.
Common Questions
Street Racing Questions People In Beaumont Ask
What is the charge for street racing in Beaumont, TX?
Texas prosecutes it as racing on a highway under Transportation Code § 545.420. The statute prohibits participating in a race, a speed competition or contest, a drag race or acceleration contest, a test of physical endurance of the operator, or an exhibition of vehicle speed or acceleration. Without an injury, a first offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
Does racing need two cars to be charged in Jefferson County?
Not under every part of the statute. The definitions include an exhibition of vehicle speed or acceleration and an attempt to set a speed record, which can describe a single vehicle. Other parts of the definition, such as a drag race, refer to two or more vehicles. The wording in the charging document identifies which theory the state is using.
What is the penalty for a Class B misdemeanor racing charge in Beaumont, TX?
A Class B misdemeanor carries up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000 under Penal Code § 12.22. Where the statute applies a higher classification, the range is higher. The court sets the sentence within the range the law provides, and community supervision is an option the law allows for a misdemeanor.
How is racing different from speeding or reckless driving in Beaumont?
Speeding is measured against a limit. Racing requires a contest, competition or exhibition, which is a different element. Reckless driving under § 545.401 requires wilful or wanton disregard for safety and is capped at 30 days and a $200 fine. The same drive can be charged under more than one statute, depending on what the officer observed.
What happens to my license after a racing conviction in Jefferson County?
Transportation Code § 521.350 provides for an automatic one year license suspension on a conviction for racing on a highway, and the convicting court must order community service. Completing that service before the year ends allows an application to the Department of Public Safety for reinstatement. A dismissal or a plea to a different offense does not trigger this suspension.
What happens if someone is hurt during a race in Jefferson County?
Section 545.420 raises the offense when an individual suffers bodily injury as a result of the race, and again when the injury is serious or fatal. Those levels are felonies. They are covered on the street racing with bodily injury page, along with the other offenses that a racing crash can support.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
Your Freedom Is Our Fight
A racing charge can come with video, social media posts and an impounded vehicle. Reach out while that evidence can still be gathered.
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