Hundreds of cars from Norway and other parts of Sweden were heading to Gothenburg for a secret car meet, according to multiple reports. Police suspect a street race was being organized where car enthusiasts compete for the fastest car, with honor, respect, and sometimes money at stake. An extensive police operation prevented the race from taking place.
Illegal street racing occurs almost every weekend during the summer half-year in the Gothenburg area, and two designated organizers were convicted of crimes during the winter. In September 2024, a large number of people gathered on Sörredsgatan on Hisingen to watch cars and motorcycles race. Roads were blocked so that general traffic was prevented from driving, and the activity lacked a permit.
Police were already aware of the illegal race through alarms and social media, and a police helicopter documented the event from the air. Officers focused on the 'starter', the person who gave the signal for cars to start. A man in his 30s was arrested later that evening and was convicted against his denial to day fines for violating the Public Order Act.
A young woman was also convicted against her denial to day fines for violating the Public Order Act. SVT contacted two groups that organize street races in Gothenburg but they did not respond. According to police, a street race is a competition on a public road without a permit, where two vehicles line up, wait for a start signal, and race on a designated stretch, usually a straight.
The competing vehicles are usually cars or motorcycles, but can also be mopeds or ATVs. Races almost always occur in the evening when traffic intensity is lower. During races, access roads and other connection points to the race road are blocked to prevent other traffic from being disturbed, which can endanger participants, spectators, and other road users.
In addition to drivers, there are 'starters' who wave vehicles to the start line, take payment, and start races, and 'spotters' who look out for police, often on motorcycles, communicating via radio or mobile. Participants receive information about illegal races via social media, SMS lists, and chat groups, often encrypted. Drivers arrive first, then the audience, and finally the road is blocked so races can be run.
In Halden, a police patrol stopped a car with a trailer and boat on the night leading to Friday. Both the car and the boat were stolen, according to officials. When police tried to stop the vehicle along Svinesundveien, the driver attempted to flee.
Shortly after 01:20, the driver could not go further because the car ran out of petrol. The car had a usage ban and was equipped with several different registration plates. Operations leader Atle Vesttorp said the driver had been in contact with police for similar incidents previously.
The driver tested positive for amphetamine, the operations leader added. Both driver and passenger are men from Østfold in their 40s, previously convicted and known to police. On Friday morning, police contacted the owner of the stolen boat, who confirmed it was his and that the boat was still in good condition.
Police took the two men into custody and opened a case. Multiple drug-driving incidents were reported across Sweden. A motorist was stopped in central Munkfors at 17:39; the driver, a boy around 15 years old, showed signs of drug influence and was taken for further testing.
A report regarding drug driving and minor drug offense for personal use has been filed pending analysis. The boy was driving an A-traktor. At 18:12, a male driver in his 30s was stopped in Kyrkåsen, Årjäng; he blew positive in the screening instrument and showed signs of drug influence.
The driver told the officer they were 'heading for a Chinese takeaway'.
In Malmö, a patrol observed and tried to stop a car on Pildammsvägen; the car did not stop but increased speed, drove through red lights and sometimes in the wrong direction. Attempts to force the car to stop were made, but the journey continued until the driver stopped on Södra Förstadsgatan, then jumped out and tried to run away. The driver, a boy around 16 years old, was caught by patrol and suspected of gross negligence in traffic, gross drunk driving, minor drug offense, and unlicensed driving.
Since the boy is a minor, he was handed over to his guardian. In Linköping, police perceived a motorist driving unsafely in the Kallerstad/Tannefors area, nearly colliding with other road users including a police patrol. Shortly after a police pursuit began, the car was found empty on a street in Tannefors.
Police resources worked to locate the driver; a man was soon found elsewhere in the area and after a check was suspected of gross negligence in traffic, and car keys were seized. A decision for body search was obtained and executed; analysis will show if suspicions of drug driving and drug offense for personal use remain. During a search of the man, several items falling under the knife law were found and seized.
The vehicle the man was driving was taken into custody by the Enforcement Authority. In another incident, a caller reported being hit from behind twice by another vehicle; they drove towards Kronocampingen, then the driver stopped at a petrol station and walked towards Drömstan. A patrol quickly located the suspected man, who appeared confused, and took him for testing.
The initial legal situation is drug driving and negligence in traffic; no personal injuries occurred, only material damage to the caller's car. Police also received a call about two people appearing under the influence getting into a car and driving off. The driver, a man in his 40s, is suspected of drug driving and minor drug offense through personal use; the passenger, a woman in her 40s, is suspected of minor drug offense through personal use.
On national road 56 at Hagaström, police stopped and checked a car; suspicion arose that the driver, a man in his 20s, was under the influence of drugs, and a certain amount of drugs was found in the car. The man was taken for a body search where a quick test showed positive for a narcotic substance; a report was filed for drug driving and drug offense, possession. On Vasagatan in Västerås, a car was stopped and checked; the patrol suspected a passenger was under the influence of drugs, but after testing the suspicions were dismissed.
In the car, police found a number of nitrous oxide canisters that were not properly secured; the driver, a man in his 20s, lacked certificates and training to transport them and is suspected of several offenses. High-speed pursuits led to charges in Eksjö and Umeå. A man in his 30s initially stopped for police but then sped off when an officer approached the driver's door.
He was under the influence of cannabis, without a license, and had a passenger. He led police on a dangerous chase through the Eksjö area, and even a spike strip did not stop him. The incident occurred on June 15 last year.
One of the police officers said he drove about one or two kilometers after the spike strip before getting a complete flat tire. He is charged with gross negligence in traffic, aggravated drunk driving, aggravated illegal driving, and minor drug offense. According to SVT Nyheter, the man described being remorseful in interrogation.
He explained his flight as panic because he had no license and his passenger panicked, SVT Nyheter reported. In Umeå, an 18-year-old man drove at high speed through central Umeå and did not stop even when police tried to force him off the road. He is sentenced to community service for the wild ride.
The incident occurred on a December night last year. A police patrol chased a car driving fast on Hissjövägen; the driver did not stop when signaled, but increased speed and drove aggressively through Västerslätt to Hedlunda. At one point, he met oncoming traffic on a road that narrowed to one lane without stopping or slowing down.
He admits the crimes and says in interrogation that he is remorseful.
Police attempted to force the car off the road in Hedlunda due to concern for public safety, but the attempt failed. The driver fled over a grass patch and threw himself out of the car from the passenger side with another person; police caught an 18-year-old suspected of being the driver. The 18-year-old claimed he was in the passenger seat and the driver climbed over him, but police car camera footage disproved this.
He is convicted of gross negligence in traffic and illegal driving to a conditional sentence with 50 hours of community service. Unlicensed drivers and forged documents were uncovered in Orsa and Piteå. A police patrol stopped and checked a motorist on Lv 296 in Orsa municipality; the driver, a man in his 60s, had a revoked driving license but presented a license issued in another European country.
Suspicion arose that the driving license was forged, so the document was seized for further investigation. The man had been notified of the revocation, so he is suspected of gross unlicensed driving and use of false document; preliminary investigation ongoing. In Piteå, an accident occurred in the southbound direction and involved a rear-end collision between two passenger cars.
The cars have been moved from the road to allow traffic to flow, and the rescue service has left the scene, according to incident commander Stefan Sjöberg. Police conducted interviews and were finished at the scene shortly before 16:00. One driver lacked a license and is suspected of aggravated unlicensed driving, said Elisabeth Glaas, RLC communicator at the police.
The extent of injuries among those involved is still unclear. It is unclear whether an ambulance was dispatched to the scene. A car came out from Rosvik's southern intersection for some reason, causing a southbound car to swerve and roll over, according to rescue service incident commander Mats Karlsson.
Two people were in the car that came out from the intersection, and one person was in the car that rolled over. One person had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. The cars collided slightly with each other, with the most damage to the one that rolled over.
E4 was closed in the southbound direction for a period but is now open as usual again. Bizarre traffic stops included skeletons mistaken for bodies and a dog on a lap. A special effects artist, Luke Orchard, 38, was pulled over by police when two prop skeletons were mistaken for real bodies.
He is a lecturer at Dudley College and uses the models for teaching and with his metal band Tumanduumband. He was driving home from the gym when he was 'boxed in' by several police cars, Orchard said. West Midlands Police received a call from a concerned member of the public about skeletons in a car on Castle Gate Island in Dudley on Saturday at 13:30 BST.
Officers confirmed the skeletons were props. Orchard normally carries the skeletons sat up in the back seat for easier transport and to deter theft. In another incident, an investigation is under way after a driver was spotted with a dog resting on their lap while the vehicle was moving.
The Road Traffic Act requires drivers to be in proper control and have a clear view of the road ahead, a Vision Zero South West road safety partnership spokesperson said. The registered vehicle keeper will be sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution to identify the driver. Drivers might underestimate how distracting a pet on the lap can be, the spokesperson added.
Pets should be suitably restrained with seat belt harnesses, pet carriers, dog cages, or dog guards. There are no official statistics on unrestrained pets, but it is anecdotally heard from time to time. In Tennessee, Hannah Strauss was driving with her daughter when two police officers pulled her over.
He explained his flight as 'panic' because he had no license and his passenger panicked.
The officers alleged she was clutching her phone while driving, which breaches Tennessee law. Strauss was actually eating a beef stick, not using her phone. She offered to let an officer smell her breath to prove she was eating.
International speeding and police chases were reported in the UK, Finland, and Northern Ireland. A driver was pulled over on the A26 Lisnevenagh Road in County Antrim on Saturday evening after being clocked at more than 135mph. The driver was doing twice the speed limit at more than 135mph, according to Northern Ireland Policing and Safety.
According to Metro, the driver told the officer they were heading for a Chinese takeaway. The driver will have their day in court and could possibly face disqualification, a police spokesman said. Police had no power to seize the vehicle as it was insured.
The driver was reported to PPS with a view to prosecution. The highest speed recorded on a 30mph road was 122mph in the South Yorkshire Police area, according to RAC data from 40 forces. More than four people die on UK roads every day on average, and speeding contributes to a significant number of deadly crashes.
In Finland, police chased a car driving erratically at high speed near Kuhmo village after midnight on Saturday night. The Oulu Police Department had received several reports about the car to the emergency center. When police encountered the car, it fled at gross excessive speed in central Kuhmo.
Police followed for a while but abandoned the pursuit and later arrested the driver, who was taken to police jail. The driver is suspected of aggravated drunk driving, aggravated endangering of traffic safety, and driving without a license during a driving ban. In Ylivieska and Paltamo, unlicensed drunk drivers were also caught; one from Ylivieska was taken to Oulu prison for unfinished matters, and one from Paltamo to Kajaani police jail for interrogation.
4 per mille on a screening breathalyzer and is suspected of aggravated drunk driving. Tuned mopeds have been keeping police busy recently. Helsinki traffic enforcement chief, Chief Inspector Dennis Pasterstein, published a video on X of a moped rider fleeing police.
The video shows police spotting a moped rider going fast in the oncoming lane on Konalantie in Helsinki; the rider did not stop, swerved into the oncoming lane, then across a grassy area to a dirt road, ending in a residential parking lot where the moped apparently stalled. The moped had no front brake, missing license plate, and a changed exhaust; the rider is suspected of aggravated endangering of traffic safety and driving without a license, Pasterstein said. Pasterstein urges parents to discuss traffic safety with young people.
In Uppsala, a driver nearly ran over an officer. In October last year, police tried to stop a driver on Råbyvägen in Uppsala; after stopping, the driver accelerated again and nearly ran over an officer. The driver, a man in his 20s, initially refused to stop; police drove alongside and then stopped in front to halt him.
When an officer got out to approach, the driver accelerated and aimed at the officer. According to Uppsala Nya Tidning, the officer described that had he not noticed the vehicle coming straight at him, he would have been run over. The driver is now charged with a series of crimes.
Shortly after 23:00 on Wednesday evening, SOS was alerted about a passenger car in flames on E4 near Rosvik. The rescue service is on its way to the scene.