Full throttle on Rømø: Police issue fines after beach racing

Police have recently received several reports of people racing or deliberately driving in circles on Lakolk Beach on Rømø.

Lakolk Beach on Rømø is densely packed with tourists in the summer heat, but unfortunately, that does not stop some motorists from racing on Denmark's widest sandy beach. (Photo: © John Randeris, Ritzau Scanpix) 37 minutes ago.

Summer heat is upon us, and tourists are flocking to the beach. Also to Lakolk Beach on Rømø, which is one of Europe's widest sandy beaches.

Lakolk is known for its fine-grained white sand and shallow bathing water, but also for the opportunity to drive a car directly onto the beach. It is not forbidden, but some motorists get tempted once they are on the white sand:

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> It is partly illegal, but it is also very dangerous driving. Therefore, on Tuesday we issued two fines to tourists, each having to pay 1,000 kroner, because they had deliberately been racing

> Allan Dalager, Deputy Police Inspector at South and South Jutland Police

- The problem is that the summer heat makes people frisky. And we can see a trend of people driving around on the beach and testing their car by doing handbrake turns and racing around in circles at high speed, says Allan Dalager, Deputy Police Inspector at South and South Jutland Police.

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Increasing patrols on the beach

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- Even though the width of the beach might invite racing, it is absolutely forbidden. The beach is full of guests. There are children running around. There are people flying kites and others playing ball, so they must stop driving around doing races and handbrake turns. We will not tolerate it, and we are trying to curb it with increased patrols, says Allan Dalager.

Road users who do not comply with traffic rules regarding caution risk getting a fine. And if it involves racing or speed contests, the penalty is unconditional imprisonment, and the case will as a rule result in an unconditional revocation of the driver's license for a minimum of three years.

Lakolk Beach on Rømø is filled with both two-legged and four-legged guests at this time, so car racing on the beach is completely unacceptable, says the Police (Photo: © John Randeris, Ritzau Scanpix)

- It is partly illegal, but also very dangerous driving. Therefore, on Tuesday we issued two fines to tourists, each having to pay 1,000 kroner, because they had deliberately been racing, reports Allan Dalager.

In July 2013, a fatal accident occurred on Lakolk Beach. A 21-year-old man from the Esbjerg area lost his life when a car with four young people was racing on the beach, after which it rolled over, and the young man was thrown from the car and suffered severe head injuries. The driver of the car was later sentenced to one and a half years in prison, and at the same time, the speed limit on Lakolk Beach was reduced to 20 kilometers per hour.

- We will continue to keep a close eye on Lakolk Beach for the next while, says Deputy Police Inspector Allan Dalager from South and South Jutland Police.

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