Now before I say this, I want everyone here to know that I don’t condone street racing and think it is an unsafe sport and in most cases practiced in an unsafe manor.

That being said, I'll start out by saying that driving alone is very dangerous. And something about driving with my foot to the floor next to a mustang that is WOT and I know the driver has 2 hands on the wheel with adrenaline pumping & his focused attention on the road seems a little more safe than driving to work next to the girl who feels the need to not only drink her coffee & read the newspaper but also put on her nail polish & makeup while trying to control her SUV going down I-75 at 85 MPH and no feel for her surroundings. I'm not saying this to go on about how stupid people can drive and that they don’t realize that every time they cut someone off they could end up in a ditch decapitated. No, I'm saying this to talk about the bad name street racing has been given.

When most people think of street racing they of course picture the typical 16 year old who knows nothing about how to handle a car at high speed & has little driving experience. And he is always driving something like a civic, with a really load muffler with a giant wing & VTEC stickers. And they always race down neighbor hood streets & and on public roads during rush hour putting many lives at risk. They would never think of someone who has taken the time to study how vehicles handle at high speeds & takes his Camaro out in the middle of the woods to race on closed roads with proper sounding exhaust.

What I don’t understand is I see more and more cops in cities that have problems with street racing (L.A. Toronto, Tampa) try and "brake down" on street racing. I see more zero tolerance plans and threats of cars being impounded & crushed. I see hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax payers money being waited on setting up bust & running helicopters around at night to look for street racing. But I have to ask, Why?

Even the cops themselves admit they will never put an end to street racing. Yet they continue to throw away thousands & thousands of dollars and clog up the courts by trying to catch as many as they can. So I know what your probably thinking. Sure, the current system isent great, but do you have a better idea?

Well I sure do. How about instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on trying to stop illegal racing, they make it legal. Now I’m not talking about making street racing legal, I’m talking about setting up dates. Like every Friday & Saturday night and shutting down side streets that are away from neighbor hoods and don’t hold a lot of traffic. If the police shut down the streets that takes the safety question out of the equation. The only people are risk are those willing to participate. Every racer must show a valid drivers license & sign a waver. Then after waiting in line, they go up & have an officer arm drop the start of each race. There would be no disputes because the officer at the finish line would declare each winner.

By doing this they not only create safe roads to race on, they also create a safe environment on the street. By having the cars in a controlled area and already having police there, there is a much less likely chance of violence & drugs to break out. All the people, racing or not racing, would also have a place to show off their cars & talk to other motor enthusiast in a safe & controlled place. It would also give police a chance

 

agreed, they dont officially do that here, but it is similar. There is a road called Egypt road with a couple farms on it. There is a 4 mile straightaway. cops will light your *** up anywhere else, but on egypt they turn a blind eye because its close to town but remote and has no traffic, and is well maintaned

 

i think its a good dream stig man but the fact of the matter is in the money that they spend theres money to be made you think well for the cop to run me down probly cost more than the ticket but think about the turn around your insurance goes up theres court fees its and its an excuse to raise taxes car companys arent complaining either cus if they crush your car youll need a new one and the tracks would lose it why would you go to the track when you can do it on the street no charge just like everthing else to much money involed to change it at this point

 

Good thinkin BigNic, that makes a lot of sense. Anyone live in or around Reading, PA? I heard they have legal street racing like once a month or something. But considering the source is one of my stupid friends, I thought I'd ask around and see if anyone knows. It just seems too good to be true.

 

I have heard that too

 

theres this place that allows racing, i can't remember the name but you sign a waiver and get in line, instead of a guy throwing his arms down they have this light setup that tell you to go. they even record your times and stuff like that...

 

Wow there is a place like that pretty close to here too! I think it's called umm....... oh yeah, Emerald Coast Dragway! Dude, there are drag strips all across America and tens of thousands of people flock to them every week. That doesn't make a difference. The ability to legally and safely race your car does nothing but allow you to fine tune your driving skills and make you more eager to race the next worthy opponent.

Also, the police departments make a crap load of money off of giving people tickets. It's not about making the road safer. If people aren't killed due to some idiots street racing they'll die due to drunk or high drivers (which are MUCH more plentiful), old people who's senses have not been checked and unable to appropriately see oncoming cars and negotiate traffic, or stupid people who are paying more attention to the radio or something else distracting. Street racers and speeders is just a really good way for the city to make some money!

 

Hey, i say it's worth a shot.... send a letter about this to your senator or govenor! Maybe go to your local police chief. Make your idea known... you never know, you can't say what people will do if you don't try!

 

Nick if you were anymore of an idiot you would be legally retarded *Hands Nick a helmet*

DOES ANYBODY NOT GET THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T RACE ON A TRACK? I mean it's the whole elusion of The Fast and Furious....but the only way to do it is like Stig said, close down a street, sign a waiver, challenge your friends, stop avoiding the solution

 

My point is that closing down a road once in a while is not a solution either. Does anyone honestly think that everyone will stop racing if there is a closed and legalized road race once a month or even once a week? I'm not! I hardly ever race anyone in public but I'm certainly not gonna change my mind about it if someone in a Honda Accord pulls up beside me and wants to race and it is safe to do it. Everyone else is like this too. The idea is genuine and probably would help a little bit but like I said, all your doing is giving people a chance to fine tune their driving skills which makes them more apt to race in other places but we all "think" we know what we're doing. It would be pretty cool if you could legally street race but that's just not gonna solve the problem.