Why no street racing...

[NapaBavarian]

This I guess it will never stop

[crazyhorse]

As seen in YT's sig: Real men take it to the track.

I'm older & wiser now, but I'm guilty of my share of street racing in my younger years.

[ensteele]

Some members have asked why no street racing.

It is illegal and has caused some tragic results like this story.

Please, take it to the track.

[black beast]

Now, i try to act my age, not my IQ, but this does not seem to be the racers fault. It was the people watching them act like morons fault. It is also the guy in the white cars fault, i dont see how the two guys in the cars that were racing could be to blame here.
Guess what, in life you have to make choices, so are good and help you along the way, some really dont matter, and others are poor and could cost you the more then you want. The people there made a choice to stand in a road and not listen for trafic comming. That was their choice, they paid for it. The white car made a choice to go faster then was really needed (150ft skidmarks?) he SHOULD pay the price, thou the police seem to think it not his fault. No where in this story do I read and the street racer crashed into an oncomming car, or they hit a pedestrain, so I disagree, it is NOT their fault at all.

[Manarius]

I agree with the poster above me. Why in the world someone would walk onto what looked like a rural highway in the dark is beyond me. I don't agree with racing on any level, but the racers were not at fault here.

[94SubieSVX]

Originally Posted by black beast

Now, i try to act my age, not my IQ, but this does not seem to be the racers fault. It was the people watching them act like morons fault. It is also the guy in the white cars fault, i dont see how the two guys in the cars that were racing could be to blame here.
Guess what, in life you have to make choices, so are good and help you along the way, some really dont matter, and others are poor and could cost you the more then you want. The people there made a choice to stand in a road and not listen for trafic comming. That was their choice, they paid for it. The white car made a choice to go faster then was really needed (150ft skidmarks?) he SHOULD pay the price, thou the police seem to think it not his fault. No where in this story do I read and the street racer crashed into an oncomming car, or they hit a pedestrain, so I disagree, it is NOT their fault at all.

Originally Posted by Manarius

I agree with the poster above me. Why in the world someone would walk onto what looked like a rural highway in the dark is beyond me. I don't agree with racing on any level, but the racers were not at fault here.

+1 on those posts. I just saw this on the news and was shocked. Why in the hell would a crowd of people stand in the middle of a highway at night??? I blame the crowd, not the driver in the white crown vic, or the two racing.

[Trevor]

The same thing has happened way down this way. It can be safely assumed that the crowd was half pissed on who knows what.

[demonsvx]

Everyone related to this story is at fault: Street racing for one, running out into a road after the race starts and someone driving without their lights on a dark road-recipe for disaster. Take it to the track, much cheaper to pay the $10-20 entry fee, have a safety crew on hand in a controlled area and your not breaking the law.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by demonsvx

Everyone related to this story is at fault: Street racing for one, running out into a road after the race starts and someone driving without their lights on a dark road-recipe for disaster. Take it to the track, much cheaper to pay the $10-20 entry fee, have a safety crew on hand in a controlled area and your not breaking the law.

Running where there is a genuine test requires intestinal fortitude, very much lacking in these instances. What is more booze and drugs are taboo at proper venues.

[dcarrb]

Originally Posted by black beast

Now, i try to act my age, not my IQ, but this does not seem to be the racers fault. It was the people watching them act like morons fault. It is also the guy in the white cars fault, i dont see how the two guys in the cars that were racing could be to blame here.

The first half of the first sentence of that story tells you why the drivers are at fault:

"A car plowed into a group of street-racing fans obscured by a cloud of tire smoke on a highway Saturday..."

No street race, no street-racing crowd in the highway.

dcb

[NapaBavarian]

I was not trying to assign blame, it is a sad story, however I would like to rebut a couple of black beasts arguements.

First, 150 ft of skid marks is not unreasonable from highway speeds, a few years ago when I would actually pay attention the BEST sports cars could stop from 60mph in 100', a crown vic in much more, and if you are skiding then the distance would be even greater.

Only one witness said no headlights, this does not make a fact, if you talk to 3 witnesses you will likley find 3 different accounts of what happened, this is a news story, not a police report, and details should be assumed to be possibly right, the only gauranteed fact is many people are dead. I almost ran over a mother and her children with my headlights on, they were all wearing black and crossing in an unlit area under a large tree 50' from a street light.

I'm not sure how it works elsewhere, but in California encouraging a street race is considered to be the SAME CRIME as the race its self, I would not hold the drivers any more or any less responsible than the crowd, from the size of the crowd and statment that there were few people at this location usually it sounds like it was likely a planed event. If everyone who was in the crowd is arrested then do the same to the drivers, otherwise leave them alone, the fact that the injured willingley put themselves in a position does not mean that they deserved their injuries or their families will be any less hurt, and their poor decision should not be used as basis for punnisihing the crown vic driver unless the vehicle was proceding in a wreckless manor, that driver simpley came uppon an unusual and difficult to avoid situation.

The dangers of street racing go far beyond the vehicles involved. The largest danger lies in trying to justify it, who was killed and who survived is luck, the fact that someone was killed somewhere in an incident related to street racing is guaranteed, kind of like Russian Roulette

[TomsSVX]

argue all you want. 7 people are dead.... The base of this is because of the street racing event. Now you could break it down into other subcategories to lay blame, but those people are still dead because there was a race happening... I watched two people die after some kid tried taking a turn too fast. A headlight from the car , I picked up 200ft from the car after it struck a bridge support... As I ran to the car to check on them, they were both eyes wide shut. It was about this time that I realized not every road is one to be challenged... i wish others would learn the same lesson in a different way.

Tom

[NapaBavarian]

I'm not sure who this was aimed at, but I was trying to point out that all parties involved share the blame, without the drivers there would be no race, but at the same time the individuals in the crowd were not forced into the street by the drivers and, knowing crowds, were likley encouraging the drivers.

The driver of the crown vic seems to be more of a victim who will live with the emotional damage of knowing that their vehicle killed many people, even if they were not driving in an unreasonable fassion and could not reasonably avoid the situation, and I find Black Beasts post quite disturbing.

Originally Posted by TomsSVX

argue all you want. 7 people are dead.... The base of this is because of the street racing event. Now you could break it down into other subcategories to lay blame, but those people are still dead because there was a race happening... I watched two people die after some kid tried taking a turn too fast. A headlight from the car , I picked up 200ft from the car after it struck a bridge support... As I ran to the car to check on them, they were both eyes wide shut. It was about this time that I realized not every road is one to be challenged... i wish others would learn the same lesson in a different way.

Tom

[TomsSVX]

My post was aimed at the fact that not every road is one to be raced on. Respect the limitations because it is a road, which conditions are not always ideal as if it were a track. Potholes... anything can serious damage the vehicle and make it unstable at high speeds, not saying spirited driving is such a horrible thing, but street racing is both dangerous and stupid... Seriously... I mean 1/4 mile tracks are what? $20 to get it?? Why not pull out a time slip instead of whipping out the keys?? I guess I could never wrap my head around all that nonsense

Tom

Originally Posted by NapaBavarian

I'm not sure who this was aimed at, but I was trying to point out that all parties involved share the blame, without the drivers there would be no race, but at the same time the individuals in the crowd were not forced into the street by the drivers and, knowing crowds, were likley encouraging the drivers.

The driver of the crown vic seems to be more of a victim who will live with the emotional damage of knowing that their vehicle killed many people, even if they were not driving in an unreasonable fassion and could not reasonably avoid the situation, and I find Black Beasts post quite disturbing.

[JaySVX]

Originally Posted by 94SubieSVX

+1 on those posts. I just saw this on the news and was shocked. Why in the hell would a crowd of people stand in the middle of a highway at night??? I blame the crowd, not the driver in the white crown vic, or the two racing.

That's the thing though. No one is blaming the drivers, or the spectators, but the situation. If the situation is encouraged, drivers will come and spectators will come. And that's when the situation can become dangerous. It's not pointing fingers at individuals, but what's going on, which can cause a general loss of common sense. If street racing was not occuring, teh fans wouldn't be there, the drivers wouldn't be there, and people wouldn't be dead. What about the driver of the crown vic? Now he has to live with the lives of 8 people on his concious.

It's not the act of street racing itself that i have an issue with, if conducted properly, it's safe. However, the atmostphere it generates is what is not safe, and being an "event" is how problems arise.