by Mathew Pilger | Sep 29, 2025

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is reminding drivers about new laws that kicked in at the end of August.
Lt. Eric Brown told Missourinet that one of the new laws lets police respond without lights or sirens in certain situations.
“In the past, if a law enforcement officer was attempting to overtake a vehicle for speeding or for some of the type of violation they were required to have their emergency lights and siren on as they were overtaking that vehicle,” said Brown. “Because of that, you know we lost the ability to gather evidence and maybe the safety stop that vehicle and to establish reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a crime has occurred because they knew that we were coming.”
Brown said the new law allows police to respond without lights or sirens when doing so could risk destroying evidence, help a suspect escape, or interfere with surveillance of a suspected vehicle or its passengers.
In Missouri, pulling on car door handles one after another — even without breaking in — can now be considered a crime if the intent is to steal.
Brown said that the new law started at the end of August. It defines this as unlawfully gaining entry into motor vehicles, and it applies when someone tries the doors of successive vehicles in a row.”
“When they see someone who is going along and checking doors, it gives them the ability to arrest that person for that violation, even though they may not have successfully broken into the car and stolen something. They can use this tool to prevent those thefts from occurring and hopefully stop some of those events before people have suffered some type of monetary loss and damage to their vehicles,” said Brown.
And Missouri has a new law cracking down on stunt driving and street takeovers.
Brown told Missourinet that the new laws deal with street takeover events and stunt driving events that are being seen across the state.
“Whether that be excessive speed, street racing, doing burnouts, stunt driving like wheelies and things such as that on motorcycles and these street takeover performances, law enforcement is able to now arrest these people for these crimes,” he said.
Brown said there are escalating penalties for repeat offenders.
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Jefferson City, MO, 65109
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