A growing community with an increasing issue

“A lot of people have different addictions,” Amhad al-Hamed said. “Some people are addicted to soccer, some people are addicted to video games or some people are addicted to alcohol. My addiction is just cars. Just driving around, or riding around, in a car.”

Al-Hamed, an immigrant from Saudi Arabia, is a junior at Kent State University who is studying aeronautical engineering.  

Ever since his dad bought an early 2000’s BMW M3, al-Hamed has been obsessed with cars. “Looking at them and talking about them,” al-Hamed said. “Just smelling the gas and hearing the engine revving and everything.”

Al-Hamed took his passion to the next level last year when he started a car club. The club met at Sheetz in Kent once a week. At first it was only al-Hamed and a few of his friends, but it quickly grew to 30-plus people.

At this point al-Hamed realized he needed a new outlet so he created the Kent State University car club. The club grew over time and its Facebook page currently approaches the 600 member mark. This group includes students, professors and alumni from the university. The club has grown so much that Kent State currently recognizes the club as an official club of the university. 

With a growing number of car enthusiasts gathering in downtown Kent on a weekly basis, trouble was bound to ensue. 

Michael Lewis, administrative lieutenant at the Kent Police department, said in an email interview that speeding violations went from 568 in 2016 to 698 in 2017. 

“There’s no way to really relate those violations with a particular group,” Lewis said. 

The correlation is there, however. A rising number of car enthusiasts meeting in Kent on a weekly basis and a dramatic increase in speeding tickets handed out, both happening over the past year. 

Al-Hamed recently went to court for sliding his Nissan through the intersection of route 43 and route 261 in Kent. Al-Hamed was stopped and ticketed by a Kent Police officer. 

The Kent Police will continue to enforce speeding laws by using laser and radar units according to Lewis. 

As for al-Hamed, he is in negotiations with the university to feature a car show on the campus’ Esplanade.