A Rancho El Dorado woman is calling for increased traffic enforcement along State Route 347 after witnessing what she described as “dangerous racing” during the afternoon commute yesterday.
Sapphire Reeves, 33, said she observed three sports cars “aggressively weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds” around 2 p.m., beginning near M Mountain and continuing south toward Maricopa’s city entrance.
In an email to InMaricopa last night, Reeves said the drivers of the vehicles — “two blue and one red” — repeatedly used the shoulder to pass multiple vehicles.
“Their actions put countless drivers at immediate risk of serious injury or worse,” Reeves wrote.
Reeves said the driving continued as she approached the signal at Lakeview Drive, where she noticed a Pinal County Sheriff’s Office vehicle nearby. She said she could not determine whether the deputy was on duty but was concerned that no traffic stop occurred while she was present.
“This raises a deeply troubling question: When behavior this reckless is witnessed and reported, are these drivers actually being located, stopped and held accountable?” Reeves wrote. “By the time calls are made, it often feels as though enforcement arrives too late, if at all.”
Reeves said the incident highlights what she sees as a need for consistent patrol presence along the corridor.
“Without consistent enforcement, these dangerous driving patterns will continue until someone is seriously hurt or killed,” she wrote. “We urgently need increased patrol presence and proactive traffic enforcement on this corridor to prevent a tragedy, not respond after one has already happened.”
A 100-second cellphone video provided by Reeves appears to show two low-profile blue sports coupes and one red sports coupe rapidly passing slower traffic and changing lanes. In a still image, the red vehicle is seen overtaking traffic entirely on the shoulder. License plates and driver identities could not be determined from the footage.
Arizona law generally prohibits motorists from using the shoulder to overtake other vehicles.
The complaint comes days after Maricopa Police Department released details of a five-hour, multi-agency enforcement effort along SR 347.
Titled “Operation Heavy Presence,” it involved 21 officers and deputies from MPD, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Gila River Police Department and Ak-Chin Police Department. Enforcement focused on John Wayne Parkway and the Maricopa Casa Grande Highway.
According to MPD, the effort resulted in 99 traffic stops, 78 citations and one DUI arrest. Officials said the initiative was funded through a Governor’s Office of Highway Safety grant and aimed at slowing drivers and preventing serious crashes.
“Safety is our No. 1 concern and we need your help. We can’t do it alone,” Traffic Sgt. Hal Koozer said in a statement released by the department. “Operations like this are designed to slow drivers down and prevent serious crashes before they happen.”
It is unclear whether the vehicles Reeves described were located or cited. Drivers who witness aggressive or impaired driving can report it to the Arizona Department of Public Safety by dialing *77.
Here’s the Feb. 18 video:
![Blue Copa will host a candidate town hall featuring a range of local, state and federal Democratic candidates on June 11, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260601-blue-copa-candidate-town-hall-300x170.jpg)
11 Responses
“Without consistent enforcement, these dangerous driving patterns will continue until someone is seriously hurt or killed,” AGAIN there have been many deaths already because of this type of driving. It is a Daily occurrence and I am getting tired of nothing getting done!
Its actually called Pima Butte, not M Mountain.
I’ve only known it as M Mountain.
The racing cars are unacceptable, no question about that. What this video also shows is the majority of cars commuting are camped out and lollygagging the left lane while there are wide open stretches of the right lane open that a lot of cars should be merging over too, this video illustrates another major issue on the 347, left lane drivers that will not merge over and let anyone pass.
To a normal person a 5 hour multi agency joint task force resulting in 99 traffic stops, 78 citations and one DUI arrest might point to the need to increase police patrols along 347.
The tickets handed out would pay for the increased patrols.
I also agree.Even with the new third lane and overpasses it will not stop the dangerous driving.It will turn it into a no stop 16 mile race track.What is the answer?
Sorry. I lost interest when the videographer was driving while using the phone to capture the unsafe drivers. Remember that when you point a finger there are 3 pointing back at you.
I agree it is probably more dangerous to be filming while driving. Isn’t this video incriminating evidence of a distracted driver? I think so.
How about the state troopers patrol during the day and not at 6 am on a weekend mornings!
Hey left lane campers move over you idiots!
Well we wouldn’t have to drive this way and pass the slow @$$ drivers that are camping in the left lane. Move over and stay to the right. Stop forcing the faster traffic to pass you just so you have a reason to whine and complain about it. I dont see anybody “RACING” I see 3 sports cars that are yes weaving in and out of traffic to pass the slower cars that shouldn’t be in the left lane to begin with but choose to stay in the left lane and completely disregarding the signs posted stating slower traffic keep right. The assumptions is solely based off the facts that there are 3 sports cars that are driving close together mimicking the same movements. If they were racing they wouldn’t be staying together like they were perfectly. They would have aggressively been trying to prevent the other cars from getting in front or even trying to find a way to pass the lead car. Instead they stayed in sync with each other and perfectly delivered lane changing to pass the idiots in the left lane camping impeding traffic which could be considered more dangerous compared to the way these drivers were handling their vehicles. It looked perfectly executed in my opinion and they were fully aware of their surroundings. Applying their breaks when it called for and not forcing their way in between cars. Maybe they did slide in when it was a bit of a tight fit but they didn’t do it aggressively or otherwise.
*RANT OVER*