What are the Legal Penalties for Street Racing in Houston, TX? | DENENA | POINTS

The minimum penalty for street racing in Houston, TX covers a first offense where no one received injuries. You’d be charged with a Class B Misdemeanor, jailed up to 180 days, and/or fined up to $2,000. You’d have your car impounded and your driver’s license suspended for 1 year.
The penalty for a 2nd offense, or a 1st offense if you’re intoxicated or have an open container of alcohol would get you a Class A Misdemeanor charge, jail time up to 1 year and/or a fine of up to $4,000. You’d have your car impounded and your driver’s license suspended for 1 year.
The 3rd offense for street racing in Houston, TX is a State Jail Felony where you’re jailed from 180 days to 2 years or more AND fined up to $10,000. You’d have your car impounded and your driver’s license suspended.
You’d be charged with a Third Degree Felony for a 1st (or any) offense if anyone’s injured by your street racing, or for an offense where you exhibited or used a deadly weapon during the crime or while fleeing. Using your car as a deadly weapon qualifies you for this felony; the weapon doesn’t have to be a gun. You’d be jailed from 2 to 10 years AND fined up to $10,000.
You’d be charged with a Second Degree Felony for the 1st (or any) offense if anyone receives serious bodily injury or dies because of your street racing. This means that you’d be jailed from 2 to 20 years AND fined up to $10,000.
When you’re under the driver’s license suspension, but not in jail, you can apply for an occupational license to allow you to go to school and home (and work if you are 18 or older). Note: Your occupational license fees can be hundreds of dollars.
If authorities catch you street racing while your license remains suspended, your suspension starts all over again, and you automatically move up into at least the Class A Misdemeanor penalty category.
And for the fans of street racing, you can receive fines of up to $500 just for watchimg a race.
Of course, the heaviest punishment of all, for both drivers and spectators, remains loss of your life to a street racing accident.