Particle.news
Download on the App Store

NRW Police Launch 'Car Friday' Crackdown as Düsseldorf Seizes Tuning Cars

The crackdown seeks to prevent crashes tied to illegal street racing.

Overview

  • Police across North Rhine-Westphalia ran reinforced Car Friday operations on Friday, using mobile patrols and pop-up control points to check tuned cars and drivers.
  • In Düsseldorf, officers inspected nearly 80 vehicles in four hours, seized four cars for serious defects, found a firearm in one glovebox and sent two drivers for drug blood tests.
  • Teams prioritized roadworthiness checks and screening for alcohol or drugs, taking cars off the road when unapproved or unsafe modifications created a safety risk.
  • Officials said meetups to show cars are legal, but illegal races are crimes that can bring prison time, and even filming or sharing race videos can lead to charges.
  • Wesel and Witten reported roaming patrols and cited prior Car Friday results for context, against a 2025 backdrop of 663 illegal-race crashes in NRW that left 19 people dead.