Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    SHENZHEN police have seized 12 vehicles and detained 13 suspects for alleged involvement in two separate illegal car racings on Guangzhou-Shenzhen Riverside Expressway.

    The seizure of 12 Hong Kong-registered sports cars, which have temporary permits with 11-day validity in Guangdong, was the largest ever in the city in fighting against illegal car racing, police said yesterday.

    Video clips provided by police showed seven vehicles entering the expressway from Qianhai Tollgate at noon on Nov. 6 and then racing at up to three times of the speed limit along the expressway.

    “The fastest car drove 300 kilometers per hour on a 30.5-kilometer section of the Shenzhen expressway and made it in seven minutes,” Li Minghui, deputy manager with Guangzhou-Shenzhen Riverside Expressway, said during an interview.

    Police estimate the average speed of the vehicles was 214.4 kilometers per hour.

    On Nov. 7, police found eight more cars involved in illegal car racing.

    A driver who witnessed the race reported it to police. He said his legs were shaking.

    “I was driving at 100 kilometers per hour on the expressway near the airport. Suddenly sports cars, one after another, rushed past my car so fast I barely had time to realize what had happened,” the man surnamed Wang said.

    But he did manage to notice the license plate number of the fourth car thanks to having perfect vision.

    Shenzhen police seized the cars when they were attempting to leave Shenzhen through various checkpoints.

    “After we impounded the cars at the checkpoints, the drivers had to come back to get them, though some of them had passed the checkpoints to the Hong Kong side,” said Ma Yubing, deputy unit chief of the traffic police bureau. Some of them returned to Shenzhen to surrender to police.

    The drivers, who have been bailed and are awaiting for trial, face one to six months in jail for reckless driving.

    “It is really scary, the drivers are doomed to die if any accident happens,” Wang said.

    A suspect, Zhou, said that they started racing when they found the expressway is broad, spacious with fewer cars. Zhou felt regret for racing which could pose danger to others.

    Police have a task force that handles street racing. Drivers who witnessed street racing between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. Nov. 6 and between 11 and 11:30 a.m. Nov. 7 can contact police at 0755-8445-7387.

    The daily vehicle flow on the expressway has reached 80,000 and racing on the expressway poses great danger and could easily cause accidents.