Sioux Falls police, residents react to increase in exhibition driving

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -If you live in Sioux Falls, you’re probably no stranger to loud cars throughout the day and into the night.

This is something that Sioux Falls resident Joe Kirby has gotten pretty used to after living downtown for five years.

“What happens downtown at night is the loopers come back and we have a lot of people parading up and down Phillips Avenue with loud motorcycles,” said Joe Kirby, Downtown Sioux Falls resident.

With issues not isolated to one specific area.

“Whether it’s ATVs and motorcycles doing wheelies, whether it’s cars playing their music loud to where you cannot have a conversation. It is not just a downtown issue; I have sat with friends that live near 57th street and we had to stop the conversation,” said Donna Hardie, Downtown Sioux Falls resident.

Sam Clemens with the Sioux Falls Police Department says this is known as exhibition driving, and it is a punishable offense.

“It’s the same thing as speeding or racing, exhibition driving is an enforceable action that we could write a ticket for,” said Officer Sam Clemens, SFPD.

Aside from loud noises, Clemens says speeding and racing come with several safety concerns.

“There’s always a danger when people are driving that fast that somebody could get seriously injured or killed and that is one of the things that is obviously concerning and what we want to try to limit,” said Officer Clemens

In response law enforcement is looking at ways to combat these issues.

“Finding the people that are doing the racing the speeding with excessive speed, making sure that we are catching the right people that are doing that. There are certainly a lot of challenges that come with that and there are a lot of different things that we are working on currently and planning for the future as well,” said Officer Clemens.

If residents do have complaints about loud or speeding cars Clemens encourages them to contact law enforcement with detailed descriptions.

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