Wrecksimple03

Alright, im new, just sharing an interesting story

A few days ago some kids from my high school were in an accident. They decide to race in the middle of the afternoon, on a busy highway. What good can come of that? Let alone one of the drivers was 15 without a license. He was driving a silver mustang, the owner, 16 was riding in the passanger seat. I heard a lot of rumors that the car they were racing was a 924S from our school, but later found out it wasn't, which is good because theres not many of us out here and it would be a shame to get some kind of rice reputation.

As they drag race the mustang loses control and goes over the center divider into oncoming traffic and is T-boned on the passanger side, The 16 year old died on contact. The driver is in the hospital in critical condition and the driver of the buick who t-boned them has a serious leg injury. The guy they raced fled the scene and was arrested and his car impounded, both the drivers are being charged with manslaughter on top of other charges. This could all be prevented by an hours drive to the closest race track.

I think ill keep off the street.

roy_josef

A good idea Tim, see you on the track. Sorry about your school mates.

944*b*bad

i think that there needs to be better access to race tracks..maybe like more 1/8 miles or autoX's or something. i know that when i first started driving i was very turned off by the fact of having to drive 1 hour + to get to the nearest track.....thats why i used to be into street racing....

Cyrus951

And the god damn tracks got to stop charging so much!!

Wrecksimple03

Heres the mustang afterwards

Wrecksimple03

all good points, but sad things ended up like that, they could have chosen a better place/time

theedge

That crap is common here in Vancouver. I tend to see it as continual proof of the Darwin Affect, and I thus dont really care much unless someone innocent was hurt or there was a hot chick involved... Then I just read the article or lastly my commute gets buggered thanks to it.

If someone is too stupid to realize that driving wasted or driving 150km/h in the rain or other such crap is a quick path to a hole in the ground, then they get no sympthy from me.

FSAEracer03

There's one famous street racing story often used as a scare tactic. A teenager was at a local spot as usual and decided to race someone, well as they were racing, a car pulled in front and was rearended at well over a hundred. The boys car as well as the impacted obviously spun out of control and, I believe, slammed into a guardrail. When paramedics came to the seen the kid was still concious and told the paramedics "don't help me... help the woman in that car... it's my mom." She was dead.

I'm not sure what the chances are of this ever happening again, but needless to say, it's a scary thought and a very weird situation. I'm not sure how I could ever live with myself after knowing that I killed my own mother, let alone anyone else.

Even though some people die involving street racing, I still firmly believe that it's not the "street racing" that killed them, it's those who do it! Racing will only endanger lives if you allow it. Racing in traffic as these kids did is INCREDIBLY stupid, let alone where there is a chance of anyone being close to you. If done in the proper circumstances, the only lives that are possible endangered are those doing it. And if you or your car can't keep stability at high speeds, you shouldn't be doing it! Back home when I was all into the scene, it wasn't ever done in a place that a car could pull out in front of anyone, nor was it done in traffic.... or even near traffic. It was always done on abandoned roads, roads that had not yet been completed or roads that were access highways, empty, at 4am.

Just my $0.02

tifosiman

Dale, like myself, was born and raised on a farm, and lived just a couple of miles away from me. He came from a large family with six kids, and he was a year older than I am.

Dale learned to drive and repair vehicles at an early age, thanks to running tractors on the farm, and stealing one for a joyride around the fields every once in awhile when his parents were away. He dropped out of school after the ninth grade, and by the time he was 18, he was making $25 an hour driving a huge dump truck for my dad's excavating business.

One of the first vehicles he owned was an old '64 Chevy pickup that was pretty much stripped of everything except seats and a very powerful engine. Everybody called it the "stump puller" because of its ridiculous amount of torque. Just by punching and letting off the accelerator rhythmically, he could get the front end to hop completely off the ground! This was partially due to some really, really wide rear tires, a pair of Mickey Thompson 50-series that were wider than they were tall, not something commonly seen in the 70's.

He did a lot of crazy ****e in that pickup. One day, I was driving home in my lime green Pontiac Ventura when I spotted him nearly half a mile away, driving in my direction on a long, straight stretch of road near my house. He spotted me too, and we both punched it and roared toward each other.

Now, I had been working with him an entire summer that year, both of us driving dump trucks on a project on my dad's farm. We played a lot of "chicken" with the dump trucks while hauling dirt, and were each familiar with the other's driving habits.

Anyway, as we approached each other on the street that day, each doing a good 85 MPH or so in a 30 zone, I steered over into the oncoming lane, and he did the same. At the last second, we both jumped back into our respective right lanes as we went flying by the local Minit Mart in opposite directions. If anyone was watching, they probably ****e themselves.

One day, Dale picked up a friend of mine and I in the "stump puller" and we drove off to a nearby neighborhood to get s****d. On the way out of this neighborhood, the road went up a fairly steep and isolated hill, a good spot for doing burnouts. Dale wound it up, dropped the clutch, and the Mickeys filled the valley with smoke as the pickup roared slowly up the hill. We were laughing like hell as the Chevy actually slowed down and stopped moving forward, even with the accelerator to the floor and the tires still spinning. When Dale finally let off, the truck started sliding backwards and sideways on a trail of hot rubber as he jumped on the brakes. We had liquefied the Mickey Thompson 50s! I don't know how much longer that pair of tires lasted.

Now, when we were teenagers, we spent a lot of time in cars. It was always a good way to get away from your parents and exercise what freedom you had. In this atmosphere, Dale understood this rule: He who controls the set of power window switches controls the world.

Dale's stump puller didn't have power windows, but his next two cars, a '67 Chevy Impala fastback coupe and a big four-door T-Bird, about a '70 or so, both did.

Dale would wield control of the power windows like a fascist dictator, to punish or embarrass his passengers.

One weekend, Dale, his girlfriend Tammy, my friend Greg and I decided to take a road trip to Lion Country Safari, one of those "drive-through" zoos about three hours away. In the park, as we passed through a flock of ostriches in Dale's big red T-Bird, one very large and curious bird put its face against the glass where Tammy was riding in the passenger seat. Greg and I were in the back and laughing like hell at the stupid-looking bird, and Tammy began shrieking. This made us laugh even harder, and made Dale roll down Tammy's window. With Tammy still screaming, the ostrich poked its freaky head and neck clear into the car, eyeing the screaming woman with a blank look, then turning and gazing at the two laughing retards in the back seat. Greg and I laughed so hard we nearly peed our pants.

But the best incident ever was one I missed for some reason, but had recounted to me.

Dale and Greg were driving around the downtown of a nearby large city one evening in Dale's '67 Impala, just screwing around and looking for something to do. Now, Greg was a shy fellow of about 18 at the time, and would not have his first girlfriend until he was about 35 years old. This made him an easy target for an extroverted sort like Dale.

Dale spotted a nice looking woman on the sidewalk ahead, waiting for a crosswalk light. He pulled over to the curb.

"Ma'am?" he yelled at the woman. She looked up. Dale motioned her towards him, and she walked toward the car.

"Yes?"

"Ma'am, could I get a kiss?"

The woman stepped backwards, but seemed mildly amused. "I don't think so," she replied.

Dale floored it on out of there, then made a U-turn (Yes, M Danger, this is illegal ). The woman had crossed the street and was now waiting for another light to turn.

Dale pulled up to the curb again, this time with the passenger side of the car, and Greg, facing the woman. He rolled down Greg's window and held it down.

"Ma'am?" Dale yelled, getting her attention again. Again, she approached the car.

"Yes?"

"Ma'am, could my friend get a kiss?"


EPILOGUE:

DALE later married TAMMY. They have three kids and live on a nice farm with, among many other critters, some emus, a close cousin of the ostrich.

Bones944

There used to be something we did when I was in high school, it was called "cruising". You know, shining up our cool cars ( Trans Ams and Camaros back in the late '70's) and looking at girls. We drove as slow as possible! There is no excuse for street racing, be it lack of a close track or strip or anything; it's no different than drunk driving. I have a 12 year old son now and I hope I can impart some sense of responsiblility to him when he starts driving to keep himself and innocent others safe. A car is a lethal weapon when used by someone who is too stupid to realize what the consequences of their actions can be. I'm very sorry for the dead 16 year old, the 15 yr old driver and the innocent 3rd party with the injured leg. Think of the dreams and aspirations that have disappeared with his death, and the heartache his parents must feel. All the joy he will miss in the course of a lifetime. I hope I don't sound like an old fart here, I'm only 42, but I feel like I'm experienced enough to lecture a bit. If you can get to a track, have the right equipment and knowledge, then go for it, but keep it off the damn streets.......my son or someone else's may be out there riding with their parents.

Be safe

Yabo

944 bad, the linkd oesnt seem to work in your sig.

Hey i thought the story of the kid hitting his mother, happened in the northeast not too long ago.. or a similar situation.

Geo

Oh gosh......

It's an hour away. And it costs a few dollars. Ohhhhh....... What an inconvenience. It's wrong. Life it hard. Oh woe is me.

Try roadracing.

My last race I felt lucky to only have a 2 hour tow. It cost me $175 for the race, $25 for the garage, and and extra $10 for additional crew. That's before the hotel and the meals. Not to mention the ancillary expenses.

Don't friggin whine to me about the cost or distance of going to a drag strip.

That said, I do actually believe that if the authorities want to do something effective to curb street racing, more strips need to be built. But a one hour drive and the handful of bucks they charge are nothing to complain about.

Personally, I think street racer's cars should be confiscated and either sold at auction or crushed. There is absolutely NO excuse.

mdex

I don’t think that more tracks will stop street racing. Most street races have nothing to do with motorsport, but rather idiotic egos. The last thing one of the “participants” wants to do is go to a track and see how pathetic their driving really is.

Geo

There are indeed areas where tracks truly are scarce. But a one hour drive is nothing.

I fully 100% agree with the rests of your statement. Street racing is lame and it's seldom fair. And you're right. Most of the contestants are pathetic drivers. They are just plain pathetic.

Dave951M

Here's a thought, let's get more tracks built. The reasoning is, most of the kids involved haven't made any reliability modifications. We get them to the tracks, they break, can't afford to fix them, and presto, no more street racing idiots.