A bill outlawing drifting and drift racing on city roads was approved unanimously by the Honolulu City Council Wednesday.

Bill 7 was introduced by Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga in the wake of the serious injuries sustained by champion triathlete Lectie Altman when her bicycle was struck head-on by a driver allegedly drift racing on a narrow section of Tantalus Drive on Jan. 25. The car that struck Altman was reportedly racing with another vehicle when the collision occurred.

The bill calls for a person convicted of drifting or drift racing to be fined up to $2,000, jailed for up to a year or both.

“My Makiki Heights, Tantalus and Makiki constituents are gratified by the strong support that HPD and the Oahu bicycling community have given Bill 7. We hope it will redirect drifting to state or county raceways and organized events,” Fukunaga said in a statement.

Police said the driver, 20, was drift racing his Nissan sedan up the mountain when he lost control, veered onto the opposite side of the road and struck Altman near Tantalus’ third lookout. Altman sustained a compound fracture to her left leg, a broken femur in her right leg and a broken arm. She also sustained injuries to her right hand and wrist.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of first-degree negligent injury.

John Steelquist, chairman of the Makiki-Lower Punchbowl-Tantalus Neighborhood Board, said speeding and racing have been problems on Tantalus Drive for years.

Honolulu Police Department Traffic Maj. Ryan Nishibun said earlier that HPD “strongly supports” the bill.

Nishibun’s testimony was signed by both Chief Susan Ballard and city Managing Director Roy Amemiya, suggesting that Mayor Kirk Caldwell also supports the bill and likely will sign it.

Altman herself submitted written testimony supporting the bill as did other triathletes and bicyclists.

Lori McCarney, a triathlete and the CEO of Bikeshare Hawaii, said in written testimony that she also bikes on Tantalus. “It is (a) beautiful oasis in downtown Honolulu,” she said. “I thought it was a relatively safe place to ride, but I encountered drift racers several years ago, which caused me to jump over a guardrail to avoid being hit.”

Several people called for stiffer penalties, including impounding vehicles used in the offense.

Steven Davidson, a triathlete, said he was biking on Tantalus Drive several months ago when he stopped under a tree for shelter from the rain. “While standing there, completely defenseless, I heard tires screeching around a blind curve above me,” Davidson said in written testimony. “I will never forget the image of the driver of a beat-up car, arms outstretched on the wheel as he came skidding down towards me on the wet road, went by me, and skidded around the next hairpin.”

He thought it was an isolated incident involving “just one idiot” until he learned what happened to Altman, Davidson said. “These are young people who do not realize the power of the vehicle they are driving or the harm they can do. Clearly, it is the responsibility of the community to reign them in.”

Motor vehicle drifting is defined in the bill as “a driving technique whereby the driver intentionally oversteers a motor vehicle, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels, while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner. A motor vehicle is drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle, to such an extent that the front wheels of the motor vehicle are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn.”