http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/22/str...ing/index.html

discuss...

 

"I would never participate in a spontaneous race because to me that's dumb," Wong says. "It's just a macho thing. I've seen a lot of stories on the news where people die from that, and the racers never knew each other.

"I would bet money that half the street racing statistics come from stupid kids street racing to see who can push the pedal harder," he says.

Wong says he organizes so-called controlled races, choosing remote locations with few cars -- or law enforcement.

"The reason I get respect in the community is because ... I try to ... keep things as safe as possible," Wong says.



This guy is is just as dumb as the kids he's talking about!

 

 

wow, someone watches wayyyy too much fast and furious.

 

1st gear in his 93 civic was not working so he needed a head start??? :wtf: if you car isn't working properly in the first place why are you even driving or racing it???

 

"It's like going to Vegas, putting a $1,000 down on roulette and sky-diving all at once," he says. "It's about getting there as fast as possible, just knowing at any point you could get arrested, there's a lot of money on the line, your life is on the line."

What they fail to realize is they're putting innocent people's lives at risk too. It would be different if two Darwin Award Winners want to race in the middle of nowhere with no other people around for miles, but these freaking idiots race at unsafe speeds on public highways/streets while plenty of other innocent victims are going about their daily driving.

Street racing is just fucking stupid...

 

maybe i should post this in the Racing forum so some of our members think twice...

 

There is a definite high to a street race but, it takes maturity enough to weigh the possible/probable negative consequences enough to determine not to get into said pissing matches....which is basically what it is.

Just as if two guys want to duke it out they should get into a boxing ring and do it, if two guys want to race then take it to the track.

 

I wish they would crush all cars involved in street racing and fine their owners $10,000 or so, that'd stop them for a while. I tend to think the other illicit activities that come along with street racing are more of a problem than the racing itself.

 

i agree... and the FnF movies don't help the situation either... kids think that they can race their civics and just run away from the cops scott free... i think the next FnF movie needs to have a side story of where a kid kills an innocent person and is so freaked out to even race...

 

FnF just exacerbated the preexisting societal problem of street racing. Lord knows, there were tons of 5.0 vs IROC Z vs T/A street races during my day (late 80s) which resulted in a number of innocent (and not so innocent) deaths.

 

Yep, same here. There used to be street races all the time back in the day (mid-80's), but back then it was all musclecars. Old Camaros (mine), Chevelles, Mustangs, and the occasional newer car like an IROC or a Mustang GT.

Of course, back then most of those older cars handled like absolute terrifying crap above 90mph, and the lion's share of the racing was straight-line drags, from stoplight to stoplight. Hell, some guys even painted off 1/4 mile stripes on Clayton Valley Road back then.

In those old school races, it was all about who's car was quicker, not about how long someone could stay in the gas. Once you started off and it was clear someone had the measure of you, you backed off and let them go. Race over. Many of those races barely got to the speed limit on the bigger roads. Anybody who did crazy maneuvers was quickly labeled a dckbrain and no-one would race them. There was a lot of respect for getting caught.....or getting wrecked.

There was none of this 100+ mph crazy swerving freeway madness. Occasionally guys in older sportscars would chase each other through canyons, but remember those were cars that were fast if they did a 8.0 sec 0-60. Factor in primitive tires and suspensions, tiny brakes, and you had overall speeds that were WAY slower than you see today.

Today, you have these hyper-fast Hondas and whatnot, making screaming top end power, yet with advanced suspension designs, comparatively excellent tires and good brakes to boot. These things handle very well, and suddenly you have guys thinking they are road racers. Ridiculous. Put someone in a WRX with AWD and suddenly they think their car is too good to ever fly off the road. Also ridiculous. Cars have gotten exponentially faster, but driver skill hasn't improved one single bit. Bad combination.

Today's street racer?

 

.........
i admit i street race a lot, but i know when to stop. my other friends will do what it takes to win and they're the ones that give street racers bad names. he'll pass cars on the shoulder, squeeze in between cars or go in the opposite lane just so he can prove hes faster.

and the closest track is 1hr+ away, and im not going to drive an hr+ just so i do run once or twice.

 

Easy way to fix this if it's not already being done ... Death in a street race = murder charges against both drivers.

Passenger in Car A dies? Driver A and B get charged.

Driver in Car B dies? Driver A gets charged with murder and everyone else in the cars with accessory.

 

you are only 19... wait until the day you realize that you are not invincible... lets just hope you don't realize this after you kill someone... smart or not, just keep it off the roads... you and your buddies...

 

I am not going to call you an idiot because you are 19 and still have a lot of maturing to do...now if you were my age and street racing...

 

".... Johnny Wong, a 21-year-old Pasadena, California, man who says he's been street racing since 1999. ...."

OK, so he's been street racing for 8 or 9 years, right? That means he started when he was 12 or 13?

Yeah, that's responsible parenting.

 

I 100% agree to this. Best post in this thread so far.

 

yeah but if im in a car with my friend and he wants to race someone, how am i supposed to stop him??? if he kills someone i get pinned as an accessory???

 

You're young. You'll learn, hopefully not the hard way.

As for your friends, they're playing russian roulette with other innocent people's lives...sad.

 

I would first ask him to stop the car. If he did not, I would ask him sternly again.

If he blatantly ignores my plea for safety, he's no friend of mine.

I would then reach over and turn off the ignition, exit the vehicle when he stops, turn my back and walk away.

 

easy to say hard to do, especially when your friend is saying "dont worry about it, its fine." and plus you cant turn off the car when its in D

 

If the law would change and you could be charged with murder or manslaughter as a passenger, I would most assuredly ensure I get out of the car.

If the driver is truly a friend, he should understand. If he doesn't and says, "don't worry about it, it's fine", I would find a new friend.

Plus, to my knowledge, you can turn the ignition back while the car is in drive and it will kill the engine. I believe this also kills the power steering and the car would be more difficult to steer, but the engine would be dead.

One could also shift the car into neutral.

I know, I'm old (33) and a buzz kill, but I have a different perspective since I've lost a friend (innocent bystander) to street racing.

 

Sounds like you are referring to one of my son's friends with his Impreza.

But , living in a day and age where Honda Accords are approaching 300hp (unfathomable back in the late 80s when it only had 122hp max), cars have become ridiculously powerful but driving skills have in all likelihood diminished since then.

 

Well stated Tripp.

 

it's not right to put others/bystanders in danger when you are aware of it and don't care. speed kills.

 

well also as you get older your perspective on life changes not for your own life... but if you are also married with children... think about if you were to get injured or die in a dumb accident... your life doesn't revolve around you anymore, it is around your family...

 

Very true. Now my Airedale Terrier monster is my best friend and my wife is a very close second - both which I would give my life to protect.

 

I cant stand even reading posts on AZ where the kids talk about street racing.. These kids need to learn how properly handle the car in first place. But, in reality it's usually the new drivers who all of the sudden think they have the fastest car on the road, and try to race everything and everyone. If you want to race take it to the track or go to one of those racing schools and get it out of your system in a safe enviroment.

 

+1, evilone

Street races for big bucks are a common thing in my area. Some of you may have seen on national news about the street race here in Birmingham that went bad wrong a few weeks ago.

One car got out of control, people were standing all along the side of the street they were racing down (STUPID!) and one person was hit and killed by a car. Another person that was holding the $20,000 Purse was shot and killed.

YouTube Clip

I have over 40K invested in my GTO and drive it daily. I would never race a stranger on a whim and on the streets. You never know what kind of idiot could be in the other car. They could take you out though you were in total control of your own car.

Spend the $10 or $20 bucks at your local track for test-n-tune if you gotta race. ...and oh, I gotta

 

i really wish there was a track atleast within an hour of me, especially a road coarse.

 

This idiot that goes to my school races his lifted Z-71 through morning traffic on the way to school with his 7yr. old brother in the passenger seat. I can only pray his brother isn't in the truck when he looses control and flips it.

 

^^ I've had the odd Dodge Ram or 2 try to race me from a stoplight before....

I disagree with some of these posts.... we don't live in a utopia. Street racing is illegal as it is and you can get your car impounded if you're caught, ultra high insurance premiums, etc. Very expensive. Yet kids will and are doing it anyway. They're young, dumb and don't know better so they'll try to run, thinking they can get away like in the F&F movies. Results in a potentially dangerous police chase, and/or they get away to street race another day.

The state should start working with race tracks to help filter in street racers to the track. Those who get pulled over get penalized, fined, etc. BUT they also get a voucher, for lets say, a free test and tune, 3 free passes at the strip, etc. That not only discourages them from street racing (which generally doesn't work too well), it encourages them to practice safe driving habits and to take it to the track. Police will bring business to the drag strips with those vouchers, so they both benefit.

Not exactly my idea but this is more feasible than 'street race and we crush your car'. I read something about police giving out free cups of coffee to sleepy drivers at night, seems like a good idea to me. On a random side note, I also like the idea that if your personal property (car, house) is being stolen, you have permission to use deadly force.... or at least assault someone attempting to steal your car without being punished for it.

 

I saw a story awhile back about a city (LA, I think) that was already doing this. They showed a clip of a few Civics and Integras getting crushed. The best part was that they made the owners watch! There was one that even shed a few tears.

 

I told the guy if he got caught he would get his license revoke and his car possibly impounded. He told me I didn't know what I was talking about, and how he always talks his way out of tickets. He is your typical egotistical redneck.