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Street racing is a terrible idea. It is dangerous, unlawful, and puts every other road user at risk. Adding to that, there is no way of knowing whether that ordinary-looking SUV behind you is actually being driven by a police officer waiting for you to make a reckless move. That is a lesson the drivers of a Chevrolet Corvette and a Dodge Challenger in Jacksonville, Florida, have reportedly learned the hard way.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Officer Ernesto Valerio of the Specialized Traffic Enforcement Unit was travelling directly behind the Corvette and the Challenger in an unmarked SUV on the night of Friday, August 14. The officer was out on patrol specifically looking for street racers and super speeders. By the look of it, he did not have to search very long.

Dashcam footage released by the department shows the grey Dodge and the red Chevrolet running alongside each other on what police said was the Buckman Bridge. The officer appears suspicious almost immediately, and can be heard saying, “Look at these guys blocking everything.” Moments later, the Corvette driver puts an arm out of the window and appears to give the Challenger driver a countdown, after which both cars accelerate hard.

“Oh, and they’re racing now. Right in front of me,” Officer Valerio says. Police allege the two cars reached speeds of more than 120 miles per hour. Quick, certainly, but not quick enough to evade the police. The officer eventually caught up with the Challenger and reportedly found 22-year-old Quashay Frazier Jr. at the wheel. He was arrested on charges of super speeding and street racing.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office did not identify the driver of the C6-generation Corvette in its initial post, nor did it say whether that person was later arrested. Even if that driver was not taken into custody, the Challenger driver was not the only one stopped by police. Authorities said the arrest formed part of Operation Double Down, a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office enforcement campaign aimed at street racing and what Florida law defines as “super speeding” — travelling 50 mph or more above the speed limit, or driving at 100 mph or more in an unsafe manner. Police said eight arrests were made on Friday and Saturday as part of the operation.

Racing a Corvette against a Challenger on a public bridge would already be an exceptionally poor decision. Doing it with a police officer directly behind you makes it far worse. If there is going to be a Corvette-versus-Challenger showdown, a drag strip is the place for it, where drivers do not need to keep checking their mirrors for fear of being arrested.