shenronzero;1188623 said:
Not much, other than the start. I would rather see people go to the track if they are going to compare speeds.
street racing bust in the local paper
- Thread starter bmoss85
- Start date
Not much, other than the start. I would rather see people go to the track if they are going to compare speeds.
We all know traffic cops are there to generate money.
Around here they don't even lie about it, it was in the paper that they hired 3 more motorcycle cops to increase revenue.
Not only that, but the gray laws that leave WAY too much up to the opinion and interpretation of the officer opens the door for abuse.
Around here they don't even lie about it, it was in the paper that they hired 3 more motorcycle cops to increase revenue.
Not only that, but the gray laws that leave WAY too much up to the opinion and interpretation of the officer opens the door for abuse.
That's not street racers, that's stupid young punk kids. Anyone who drives fast enough that they can't avoid kids on the road in a residential area is dumber than a bag of hammers, and deserves to get reamed by the local LEO.benchwarmer;1188378 said:
So, is it illegal to fire your gun in the air on your own property when there's nobody around? You can still kill someone, the chances are just much smaller. The only difference is the level of risk. Is it any better if you kill someone by accident when the risk was low? I don't like laws that penalize me, or anyone else, for a risk.Dunckel;1188493 said:
I'd like to know why you think speeding is evil. It's a well documented fact that accident rates increase when speed limits are implemented.mkiiSupraMan18;1188518 said:
Are they? When speed limits increase the accident rate, how exactly does enforcing them make you any safer?03bamaGT;1188645 said:
Guys, I'm really not advocating breaking the laws. I *AM* advocating that you should question them. There are laws that are very valid - and there are BS examples that really need to go away. It's our responsibility to sort the existing laws into these categories, and work towards getting rid of the latter category.
PS: If I ran the world, we'd penalize stupid drivers, not fast ones. I'm talking about the idiots that cut off big trucks just before the red light, or park on the train tracks in front of a train, turn left from the right lane, refuse to use their signals, drive with their high beams on all the time in the city, refuse to let other drivers merge when it's their turn, don't shoulder check their blind spots when changing lanes, let road rage turn their automobile into a deadly weapon, etc, etc.
Well, this is true to a point. Traffic cops are *supposed* to be there to back up the rules of the road, and the way they do this is to eat up your time and money by forcing you to pay fines or listen to lectures on your driving behavior. And this is a good thing when they are applying it to rampant stupidity on the roads.Poodles;1188797 said:
A buddy of mine is in the force here, and he LOVES traffic duty, because it's effortless. He doesn't run speed traps, or even carry radar, because he doesn't need to - there are plenty of people out there doing dumb shit, and there are few things more satisfying than handing out a ticket to some silly girl with dangly toys all over her windshield... or the grandmother who assumes that she has the right of way because she's older than you, and she doesn't care if you're driving an ambulance with the lights and sirens on. He brings stories to the weekly poker night that make you laugh so hard you cry.
Again, I'm not saying street racing or street racers are in any way good. I just don't think it should rate that high on the priority list.
Take another example - cancer.
What gets all the publicity, fund raising, and scares people the most? Breast cancer.
What kills the most people, and is actually the most preventable? Lung cancer. But the girls are still smoking outside school in the afternoon, and if you ask them about it, they say that they won't have to get a mastectomy... true enough, they should look complete and natural in their coffins.
WTF? How can people's priorities be that screwed up?
lol another bust in HP what is this like the 5th one in 3 years.....as i'm sure many of you have never been in hp but for the longest time its been on of the biggest hang out for anyone with a fast car. Ages range from 16 - 50 back when all this meeting and racing mess started there were vets, lambo, porsche and then the general alot honda , mazda, toyota etc.....the cops allowed the use of the old HP airport and thats pretty much where everyone stayed. More recently has it become ridiculous with all the young kids trying to mimic what they think west coast life is like thanks to F&F....each and everyone deserved what they got and i can say that i know a few of the guys who lost their cars and sat in jail...stupidity never gets you ahead (trying to shut down a highway...lol)
Very interesting thread so far. I agree and disagree with a few people on here. First, everyone knows that I drive fast from time to time. I wouldn't need a turbo'd car if I never went above the speed limit. I do race when given the chance, but I'm no idiot. I know how to drive my car and if I get caught, I'll pay the fine, ticket or whatever it is. I know what I'm doing is against the law, so I won't cry about it if I"m caught. I won't however race when other cars are around. I've had to say no to a couple easy kills just because the people wanting to race me looked wet behind the ears and I didn't know for sure if they could handle it. It wasn't worth it to me. They said I was scared and I just agreed with them.
I don't have a dislike for cops either. They have a tough job to do and it's not like they made the laws. They're just there to help uphold them. I also dont' agree with the crime fitting the punishment. There's no way a guy should ever get more than one DUI. On the second one or even the first one, it should be straight to jail. I know that doesn't go along with Grim's theory of not having a victim, but why wait for a victim when the outcome could be death? I guess by that logic though, racing should be a straight to jail sentence then because that outcome could be death. The only thing I can say is that I have all of my senses with me and they're not influenced by alcohol. It's a very thin line and one hard to put into words about what's right and what's wrong. I now racing is bad. I do it anyways, but I am willing to accept the consequences and not blame the police when I get caught.
I probably didn't make much sense, but I"m late and in a hurry. Sorry.
I don't have a dislike for cops either. They have a tough job to do and it's not like they made the laws. They're just there to help uphold them. I also dont' agree with the crime fitting the punishment. There's no way a guy should ever get more than one DUI. On the second one or even the first one, it should be straight to jail. I know that doesn't go along with Grim's theory of not having a victim, but why wait for a victim when the outcome could be death? I guess by that logic though, racing should be a straight to jail sentence then because that outcome could be death. The only thing I can say is that I have all of my senses with me and they're not influenced by alcohol. It's a very thin line and one hard to put into words about what's right and what's wrong. I now racing is bad. I do it anyways, but I am willing to accept the consequences and not blame the police when I get caught.
I probably didn't make much sense, but I"m late and in a hurry. Sorry.
GrimJack;1188826 said:
Never said it was evil, just against the law. I ussually abide by it in lower speed zones, do my +8 on the interstate, and if I get busted for the +8, I'd suck it up and pay the fine. In all honesty, it's kind of a game to me now to drive the speed limit to piss people off, especially since driving the speed limit keeps me from having to sit at a 4-way stop for a few minutes in a place that's known for rear-end collisions. +1 for safety and gas mileage... plus people make asses out of themselves.
Agreed.mkiiSupraMan18;1188932 said:
Arguing with the police is pointless, they can't change squat.
Take it up with the government, that's where you can make a difference.
Can't find the law in Texas, but if I do I'll post it.
It's not as bad as some places, but still far worse than the punishments for driving drunk...
It's not as bad as some places, but still far worse than the punishments for driving drunk...
“Recently, there has been much in print and much grandstanding by politicians, Attorney Generals and Police Commisioners about how street racing is an “epidemic.”
Sadly, Joe Public eats it all up since he/she really has no clue and no way or verifying if what the talking heads are saying is true. How do I know this? Well that’s because Canada doesn’t compile and keep statistics on the causes of accidents, which would include those by street racing.
As an auto enthusiast and an engineer for an automotive manufacturing company, I take a keen interest in all things automotive. So I decided to do much research on the topic so that I could make my own decisions. With little info available here, I had to turn to the US. By all accounts, street racing is a much more serious problem in the US than it is here. Well after coming up emtpy for statistics from Transport Canada, I found a wealth of information from the National Highway Safety Administration FARS (Fatality Analysis Accident Reporting System) statistics. Street racing has been included in the FARS database since 1998.
The statistics, to say the least, were eye opening. Far from being a scourge of the highways, street racing accounts for very few traffic deaths. From 1998-2005, there were 304,236 fatalities on U.S. roads. Of these, a mere 353 (0.12 per cent) were from street racing. For comparitive purposes, I also looked at other common causes. Talking on a cellphone, another dangerous driving habit much hyped by police and the media was only slightly less dangerous at 327 deaths (0.11 per cent).
Driving slower than the posted speed limit (429 deaths, 0.14 per cent) accounted for more deaths. Surprisingly, being distracted by something inside the vehicle, such as talking to a passenger, adjusting a mirror, fiddling with a radio or eating caused an eye-opening 38,914 deaths (12.79 per cent).
Again, this is something plenty of people do every day while driving. Some of the highest trained street drivers in the world, police officers, caused nearly four times the fatalities (1,357, 0.44 per cent) of street racers!
But these all pale in comparison to drunk driving. Nearly 144,000 people were killed by drunk drivers in the U.S., a staggering 44 per cent of all fatalities. Canada isn’t much better. Drunk driving here is responsible for at least 30 per cent of all fatalities, claiming sometimes over 1,000 victims per year.
By contrast I’ve been only able to find less than a dozen deaths caused by street racing in Canada for the last two years combined.
And now there’s been talk from the Attorney General about impounding and crushing cars of street racers. Why such a harsh punishment for something that is more or less insignificant statistically? Easy. These street racers are generally young people. And young people have no money to defend themselves in a court of law. So it’s easy for the agenda-driven police and politicians to “show” that they are cracking down and being tough on this “epidemic” of street racing.
Now, let’s imagine for a second that the police and politicians changed the laws so that the cars of drunk drivers, the most dangerous group of killers on Canadian roads, were crushed. The outcry would be IMMENSE to say the least. Drunk drivers include people from every walk of life. Judges, teachers, politicians, police, journalists, engineers you name it. And more alarming, these people drive drunk multiple times! Even with suspended licenses.
The fact is “street racers” are being centered out for political reasons but mainly because they are easy pickings. What a better group to target than a group of people perceived as dangerous drivers that can’t defend themselves.
Don’t get me wrong here. Street racing is stupid, irresponsible and downright dangerous. But is it the threat to humanity we have been reading about? Certainly not.
The average person doesn’t know the facts and has no idea where to look for them. They are being lied to and are being fed a plate full of bullshit."
Sadly, Joe Public eats it all up since he/she really has no clue and no way or verifying if what the talking heads are saying is true. How do I know this? Well that’s because Canada doesn’t compile and keep statistics on the causes of accidents, which would include those by street racing.
As an auto enthusiast and an engineer for an automotive manufacturing company, I take a keen interest in all things automotive. So I decided to do much research on the topic so that I could make my own decisions. With little info available here, I had to turn to the US. By all accounts, street racing is a much more serious problem in the US than it is here. Well after coming up emtpy for statistics from Transport Canada, I found a wealth of information from the National Highway Safety Administration FARS (Fatality Analysis Accident Reporting System) statistics. Street racing has been included in the FARS database since 1998.
The statistics, to say the least, were eye opening. Far from being a scourge of the highways, street racing accounts for very few traffic deaths. From 1998-2005, there were 304,236 fatalities on U.S. roads. Of these, a mere 353 (0.12 per cent) were from street racing. For comparitive purposes, I also looked at other common causes. Talking on a cellphone, another dangerous driving habit much hyped by police and the media was only slightly less dangerous at 327 deaths (0.11 per cent).
Driving slower than the posted speed limit (429 deaths, 0.14 per cent) accounted for more deaths. Surprisingly, being distracted by something inside the vehicle, such as talking to a passenger, adjusting a mirror, fiddling with a radio or eating caused an eye-opening 38,914 deaths (12.79 per cent).
Again, this is something plenty of people do every day while driving. Some of the highest trained street drivers in the world, police officers, caused nearly four times the fatalities (1,357, 0.44 per cent) of street racers!
But these all pale in comparison to drunk driving. Nearly 144,000 people were killed by drunk drivers in the U.S., a staggering 44 per cent of all fatalities. Canada isn’t much better. Drunk driving here is responsible for at least 30 per cent of all fatalities, claiming sometimes over 1,000 victims per year.
By contrast I’ve been only able to find less than a dozen deaths caused by street racing in Canada for the last two years combined.
And now there’s been talk from the Attorney General about impounding and crushing cars of street racers. Why such a harsh punishment for something that is more or less insignificant statistically? Easy. These street racers are generally young people. And young people have no money to defend themselves in a court of law. So it’s easy for the agenda-driven police and politicians to “show” that they are cracking down and being tough on this “epidemic” of street racing.
Now, let’s imagine for a second that the police and politicians changed the laws so that the cars of drunk drivers, the most dangerous group of killers on Canadian roads, were crushed. The outcry would be IMMENSE to say the least. Drunk drivers include people from every walk of life. Judges, teachers, politicians, police, journalists, engineers you name it. And more alarming, these people drive drunk multiple times! Even with suspended licenses.
The fact is “street racers” are being centered out for political reasons but mainly because they are easy pickings. What a better group to target than a group of people perceived as dangerous drivers that can’t defend themselves.
Don’t get me wrong here. Street racing is stupid, irresponsible and downright dangerous. But is it the threat to humanity we have been reading about? Certainly not.
The average person doesn’t know the facts and has no idea where to look for them. They are being lied to and are being fed a plate full of bullshit."
Is it possible the numbers are low due to increased enforcement, and harsher penalties by authorities?JPsToyota;1189165 said:
Forget murders, drug dealers, and rapist... we're hunting teenage boys with tons of testosterone street racing.. Street racing today, murdering rapist drug dealer tomorrow.. lol
What bothers me is that the same cops writing tickets probably raced their Chevelle's and Camaro's and Mustangs back in the 70's, before it was punishable by 3 months in jail and having your car crushed. I bet if you ask most of those officers, they would tell you that being able to drive fast is something they enjoy about the job. Statistically, I really doubt that street racing is anywhere even remotely close to drunk driving or unlicensed/uninsured motorists in terms of causing crashes or fatalities. I don't street race, I'm not defending them at all. But I do think that if they really wanted to cut down on the street racing, the cities and counties would sponsor and promote more legal racing options.
bigaaron;1189532 said:
But these all pale in comparison to drunk driving. Nearly 144,000 people were killed by drunk drivers in the U.S., a staggering 44 per cent of all fatalities. Canada isn’t much better. Drunk driving here is responsible for at least 30 per cent of all fatalities, claiming sometimes over 1,000 victims per year.
Taken from the post above^
I just saw a statistic that 45 out of 1000 people who street race are involved in an accident.
I bet the same statistic applies to drivers who drive the speed limit and observe all traffic laws. I bet at least 4.5% of law-abiding citizens driving on the streets get in one accident each year.
I bet the same statistic applies to drivers who drive the speed limit and observe all traffic laws. I bet at least 4.5% of law-abiding citizens driving on the streets get in one accident each year.