Every Other Day, A Reckless Driver’s Car Is Now Getting Towed

A tow truck hauls away a vehicle on N. Milwaukee St. in 2019. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A long-sought-after state law change has led to limited use, but officials are happy the policy option exists.

In late 2025, the state gave cities the ability to impound any vehicle when a driver was caught operating it recklessly.

Two months after the law change took effect, the Milwaukee Police Department initiated tows in 31 cases.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the policy has been a success. “That’s … 31 vehicles off the street. We don’t have those cars being used as weapons against our fellow citizens,” he said at a Jan. 8 crime stats press conference.

Earlier state law changes that allowed towing only applied to certain circumstances.

In 2022, the city was allowed to impound vehicles driven recklessly if they were also unregistered. A 2023 change extended that to cases where the driver owned the vehicle and had an unpaid reckless driving citation.

“Those conditions, we found out, made the ordinance we passed somewhat useless,” said Alderman Scott Spiker at an October press conference.

Ald. Lamont Westmoreland called for the latest change in 2023, then had to wait two years for state lawmakers to implement it.

“It’s a two-ton weapon,” he said in October 2023. “We should look at this the same way we look at firearms. Let’s get as many of them off the street as possible.”

MPD and the mayor have repeatedly said they were willing to use the expanded authority.

“We’re going to use every single tool that’s available,” said Johnson on Jan. 8. He declared reckless driving a public safety crisis as his first act in office in 2021.

Getting a vehicle back is intended to be expensive. The owner must pay $150 for the tow, a $25 daily storage fee, $50 if it is uninsured and any outstanding citations related to the towing. Parking services manager Peter Knox said in October that data indicate more than 80% of those cited for reckless driving don’t have insurance.

But the towing policy isn’t likely to be stressing the tow lot, as was once contemplated. Knox previously said 300 spaces were reserved and he expected an initial influx. The city tows 22,000 to 25,000 vehicles annually. The city must hold onto the reckless driving tows for at least 90 days before scrapping or selling them.

In 2023, Milwaukee issued a recent high of 648 reckless driving citations.

Other crime stats

At the press conference, Johnson said public safety is moving in the right direction in Milwaukee.

“The numbers are remarkably positive in the city of Milwaukee,” said the mayor. “The anomaly is homicide.” Homicides increased by 8% year over year, while things like vehicle theft fell by 1,000, non-fatal shootings dropped by more than 100 and robberies fell by more than 500.

District Attorney Kent Lovern said it was a positive sign that nonfatal shootings had fallen by 40% in two years. He said his office brought 1,000 more felony cases in 2025 than in 2022, and its three-year average is now at a decade high. It increased its criminal reckless driving prosecutions by 50%.