It's nighttime and you're driving down a three lane highway, covered all around by others doing the same. Rush hour is winding down, and everyone is bumbling along at a speed of 65-70. The guy to your left is bobbing his head to a song on the radio, and you're not sure if the woman on your right is talking to herself or to someone through a Bluetooth car system. Overall, a pretty average commute home.
You see two cars flying down the other side of the highway; one is a Dodge Charger, the other is a Dodge Challenger. "Where are those guys going," you wonder.
Suddenly, you see the Challenger crash into a UPS semi truck, which causes it to careen over the divider. Brakes, including your own, are slammed.
The truck shears the roof off of a passing Nissan, killing two and injuring two more. One of the people killed was 19-year-old Michelle Littlefield, a Six Flags Magic Mountain employee, who was also enrolled in business school. She and three friends were on their way home from Disneyland at the time.
The truck landed on top of a Ford Explorer and burst into flames, killing Scott Treadway, the truck's driver, of Mira Loma.
The Challenger driver, 35-year-old Dealio Lockhart, was arrested and admitted to racing. The Charger driver fled the scene.
Think I make that up? I hate to say it, but unfortunately, you're wrong.
That's three people gone, one of which was 19 years old. Just because some human scum decided they wanted to see whose rental-spec Dodge goes faster on a busy highway.
Lockhart was charged with triple murder.
I'm gonna get this out of the way right now: I'm a huge car guy, and anyone who knows me even a little bit can confirm this. I always joke around about how I race people off the line at red lights, and winning because they don't know we're racing. But that's all those are. Just jokes. That's it.
Real street racing is completely idiotic and practiced by only the most selfish of car enthusiasts. I promise you, we're not all like that.
Don't believe me? Here's another, and its results.
And another.
And another.
And another.
That last one really gets me though. Two people are dead, and only one driver, Henry Michael Gevorgyan, was found. He deserves everything that's coming for him. I bet I know where the second one is: the dump. Because he/she is literal human trash.
These are only a couple of incidents however. Look up "street racing" in your favorite news organization's website and there's sure to be more.
I've actually been to a couple just to see what they're like, and let me tell you: they were extremely underwhelming.
I won't name names, cars, or plates (mostly because I can't remember their names and I didn't pay attention to their plates), but what I do remember was the two races being hyped really hyped up beforehand. Because of this, I thought there was gonna be some kind of Fast and Furious-type racing down a long empty road.
Little did I know, it was gonna be like 80 yards on a semi-busy road.
The race almost ended badly because one driver called the start and almost ran into the back of a passing Mercedes. Everyone there, a group of roughly 10 people besides me, berated him for it and seemed genuinely pissed at him for doing something usually reserved for the dumbest of asses. I didn't say anything because it was my first time meeting these people, and I don't wish I did because the experience was new to me.
I did wish I said something for the second race, however, which took place on a busy highway. These guys, who seemingly think of everything, got into three lanes and slowed down as the racers in front took off for another 80 yards. I stayed far behind on this one, and I'm glad I did. I didn't see the group for the rest of the night afterwards.
There's no doubt that street racing is a problem, and it's not gonna end by making certain cars cost more, like the author of this letter to the editor says. As long as there are fast cars, street racing will happen. Unfortunately, it's a given.
To quell the scourge of street racers, we need controlled environments where cars are free to go as fast as they want.
Areas where there are specially-designed barriers for them to crash into and only damage their cars.
Areas where paramedics and police officers are constantly on standby.
Areas where people can safely spectate.
We need more racetracks, whether it be drag strips, ovals, circle tracks, dirt tracks, or traditional circuits, for people to drive at freely. Most tracks also are home to racing schools, so drivers can learn car control and how to actually keep themselves composed and calm during races. They also have to be inexpensive enough to actually get people interested in using them.
If there were more racetracks, street racing's popularity would gradually wane, and the road would be saved for those who use it responsibly.
