NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Christopher has lived in Antioch for years, but he said recently Franklin Limestone Road outside his home has turned into a race track.
"I worked really hard," said Christopher. "I'm a blue-collar kind of guy for the most part and, you know, you pay this house off. Then we literally are afraid that we're gonna get killed pulling out of our driveway."
He said street racers will go up to 90 miles per hour outside his home.
"I mean, obviously, it's not just a south Nashville problem," he said. "I think it's everywhere in Nashville, but it is particularly fierce around here."
This comes after a recent street racing crackdown in south Nashville. With the help of the Metro Nashville Police Department and THP helicopters, several men are now facing charges and a stolen car was recovered.
"We see it every day in the traffic division that risky driving behavior has increased over the last several years," said Lt. James Williams with MNPD said. "It's led to a lot more fatal crashes that have almost doubled since 2017."
MNPD's street racer enforcement initiative led to 24 traffic stops, resulting in 19 violations and five warnings over the weekend.
"We do believe that within these groups there are oftentimes stolen vehicles. We see through social media and online posts that a lot of the folks that are engaged in street racing are engaged in other illegal activities," said Williams.
But police are limited in what they can do when meetups take place on private property. That's why Lt. Williams encourages businesses to file trespass waivers with the department.
"That allows us to enforce the trespassing law without the owner being there," he said.
"I can expect that we'll have more arrests in the future," said Williams.
But Christopher worries it won't go far enough.
"Something a little more outside the box, whether it's just a speed camera — and if they can't afford that — just speed bumps," said Christopher.
