I am inclined to agree with Gary Faules because he makes very strong points with regards to what the costs are for friends and family of accident victims. I also agree with only a single point of Dusty’s arguement… not enough is done to enforce/stop drunk driving. That is where our agreement ends. Traffic penalties in the states are not nearly harsh enough given the severity of the potential for injury and loss of life. There SHOULD be a zero tolerance policy in effect for drunk driving, or driving under the influence of ANY substance/condition that impairs judgement or reaction time.
–
That aside, mentioning drunk drivers only goes farther to illustrate the dangers of street racing because it represents one of the biggest variables on the road. You never know when or where you will come across an impaired driver. You never know when or where someone’s car is going to break down, or when something may fall off an unsecured load of a truck… this list could go on forever.
–
As for the point that police enforcement is so precious that it should be focused on other things? Like what? Give us a for instance on that one because I just don’t understand what you’re getting at. Its kind of like saying let’s forget about the rapists because there are so many murderers out and about, don’t you think?

It’s a sad day that some can’t see with their heart instead of with their egos.

Would you not be insulted if your nephew was killed and someone said, “I fail to see why this is such a big deal.”?

You comment that says “The vast majority of deaths or injuries in street racing incidents affect only those participating.” shows your lack of compassion among other qualities. How do you suppose the death of a young adult affects those in his family or the families of others that were injured not to mention what it does to young peoples insurance rates. Two years ago when we were heading north on I-5 there were some kids racing another car on the freeway and they lost control and slid sideways into a guardrail which went all the way thru the rear seat killing two young girls and almost the third. My son in law tried everything he could to help save one of them while giving CPR. He is still going to therapy. Based on your remark he should not have been affected. You;’re mistaken.

How in the world can you say little is done about drunk driving?

If people find my comments offensive with regards to this topic then they have served their purpose. The truth hurts don’t it?

No, it is not a bad comparison. The vast majority of deaths or injuries in street racing incidents affect only those participating. Drunk drivers kill many more innocent people every year, yet little is done about it.
.
Illegal street racing is not justified, but it is not a good place to spend large quantities of limited police budgets on.
.
Perhaps instead of insulting other commentors, you should learn to argue yourself.

(1) I fail to see why this is such a big deal.
(2) They are blowing these things out of proportion.
(3) So i guess street racing smoke kills people.

Reply; Obviously these were made by immature idiots who feel the need for attention or have a need to act like tough guys. Trust me on this one, comments like this do not impress anyone.

Comment; maybe we should do a comparison to how many people die in drunk driving incidents

Reply; It’s a poor attempt at redirection. Kindergarten kids come up with better debates than this one. The topic is not about drunk drivers. It’s about idiots that street race.

Comment; racers are already adept to taking risks, getting caught is just one more.

Reply; I love this one… Trust me on this one… Street punks take unnecessary risk. Racers (real ones) take none. We use the latest safety equipment and do all that we can to avoid any risk we can possibly think of. Furthermore we DO NOT race in places where we put people at risk especially any unsuspecting persons who trust they are not driving into any situations that put their lives at risk of being hurt of killed. When we race on tracks there are barriers, most dangerous obstacles are dealt with, and in the event that there is an accident, there are medical personal and safety crews always at the ready.

Comment; I myself have been racing since i was 16 and have not once seen an accident cause by racing.

Reply; It sounds to me like you see what you want to see. There are thousands of them on the Internet alone. Since you have never seen one try checking out some of these. http://youtube.com/results?search_query=street+racing+accident&search_type=

The bottom line is that it is NOBODY’s responsibility to build anyone a track to race on. If you want to race car responsibility take the time to do it intelligently at a track. Tracks are very expensive to build and maintain and the fact is they are not going to pop up all over the country just because some kids complain about it. Most young people do not race (like they would have you believe.) because they are trying to build a faster or safer car. They do it simply because they want to impress their peers. The rest of the truth is they have fears that they will look like idiots if they go to a track and some girl passes them like their sitting still, which by the way happens most of the time.

Nobody should be ashamed that they will not be fast on a track at first when in fact they should be patting them selves on the back for getting started in the right direction. They will be surprised how fast they will learn to be fast and stop making mistakes as they learn all they have been doing wrong. I have been a licensed instructor for years and have seen this so many times but what I love seeing is young people take their cars on the track and in just a few short sessions, the looks on their faces when something seems to click and they begin to truly become “good” at what they are doing. It’s cheap, it’s safe and it’s legal. (Even in most street cars and insurance will even work if doing so with the right organization so there are no excuses.)

NOT ONE of you will be able to convince me that illegal street racing can be justified and had you lost someone you love in an illegal street racing accident you would share my point of few. Write a reply after you have and then we will talk. I have no doubt some who try to give the impression that they are tough guys that have been doing this for years will have some lame comebacks but be warned, in doing so you are only showing lack of good judgment, how irresponsible you are and what little disregard you have for others on the roadways, all of which are NOT good qualities in REAL race car drivers.

I fail to see why this is such a big deal. Many, many more people are killed every year by drunk driving, yet nothing much is ever done about it.
.
And the vast majority of “street racing” incidents usually involve a bunch of kids parked in a parking lot bragging about the turbo kit they’ll never actually get.

Being somewhat close to the MD incident… They are blowing these things out of proportion. Essentially the people killed were standing around in crowds on the road, a highway with 55+ speeds on it mind you, and the driver of the killer car was not even involved in the race in any level. They were heading somewhere else and ran through a crowd of people. They didn’t see because there was a cloud of smoke left from the race. So i guess street racing smoke kills people. Moral of the story… slow down when you can’t see where you are going… I guess they had somewhere better to be in a hurry.

Forgot to add:

I know that Bullitt doesn’t glorify street racing, but it did glorify driving fast and recklessly on public roads…

The nearest track to my is about a half an hour away. I think it cost $20 for a couple runs, and it is only on a couple of night, I have never been there. But being in high school, I bought my own car. I bought all of the modificaitons on it, I made everything my own, I have earned respect just throught my work at school and I have respect for my car, because I HAD TO WORK FOR IT. Other people in my school, the majority of them, their PARENTS bought them their cars, brand new! High Horsepower cars, that they do not know how to handle. And the ones who have those cars with modifications on them their PARENTS bought them for them. So it is technically their parents car. “if you didn’t buy the parts for your car, its technically not yours.” I agree with that, and it is leading to more “street racing” accidents involving TWO or more cars, NOT ONE. Because they do not know how to handle a vehicle of that caliber.

Its mostly the parents fault for buying them a high end car, and the teenager does not have respect for it, because they never touched it, they DID NOT WORK FOR IT.

I still find that the ones that end up getting hurt or causing the accidents are the ones who aren’t racing. It seems to me that street racers ( if they can so be called) that have knowledge and know-how to control their vehicle are less likely to cause fatalies or injuries. I myself have been racing since i was 16 and have not once seen an accident cause by racing. I’ve seen close calls done by idiotic people that I didn’t know who thought they “knew” how to drive. But most accidents that i have read about occured when a innocent person crosses paths with racers or fails to keep control of their own vehicle. Having more race tracks won’t really detour racers from hitting the streets i mean an open track once a night every few weekends isn’t going to do anything to curve the problem. The track around in my area has grudge matches once a month and thats not going to satisfy me as to there is no thrill involved, and the wait in lines is just as long as it is to shit talk in a parking lot. And all this talk about street racing causing accidents, maybe we should do a comparison to how many people die in drunk driving incidents, or police chases. The news only glamorises the term ” street racer/ street racing”, a lot more than the big screen does. I keep reading google news on how someone was hurt in a street racing accident and when you get almost through the article you find that there was only one car involved and that the person wasn’t really racing anyone at all. Besides if we keep coming up with the stupid laws of impounding a persons vehicle for speeding/wreckless driving the U.S. is going to end up just like Canada and be in a shit hole where everyone who is caught doing 5 over is subject to a $10,000 fine, the title of being a “street racer”, and having their car impounded for little to no reason at all, I’ve noticed California is very close to that shit hole of a law and the title MAD WITH POWER.