You just have no idea how many people just thought, "I'm going to get me some NOS!!!!"
Ultimately street racing is already illegal and no one cares about a few people re-enacting blokeish revenge fantasies ("Shoot 'em in the head, right on, dude", "Hang 'em, flog 'em, hide my hard on!")
Armed robbery is quite a dangerous activity for everyone involved... People still do it. People still make films about it. People go and watch those films in hordes. Their hearts race and they cheer, and they go home to their mortgages, dull partners (nothing like the stars they idolise), and they lead average, peaceful lives, afflicted only by average, relatively peaceful forms of grief and tragedy.
While I'm sure many other people here are speaking from much more experience, I'll just say something related to MY accident last week.
I ALSO know how much my Subaru weighs (3200 lbs), what the skidpad rating is (almost .8 surprisingly) and how long it usually takes to stop it on a dry surface given the ABS kicks in. I also am able to hear and feel exactly when I am approaching the limits of grip on a curve, I can sense when the road is slippery, and I know that on any wet road, you can never be too certain how much grip you've got, no matter what the tires or how many wheels you have. I am one of the few teenagers that didn't get into an accident this past winter driving to high school when they didn't call it off and yet there was 1/4" of ice on the road. I also used my car to pull out some girl and her Thunderbird from a snow drift when she crashed. All my friends will tell you that I am a better driver than they are and that they feel safe with me behind the wheel. My 6 hour behind-the-wheel instructor told me I was the best driver he's ever had.
OBVIOUSLY then, I cannot possibly get into an accident traveling at the speed limit, much less at 120 mph... right?
Hmmm, last week, I was traveling the SPEED LIMIT on a road with a right hand curve. The road was dry but the curve, under the trees, was wet from the rain the night before. I would have gone slower around the curve (knowing all about the car, just as you do) but I DIDN'T KNOW it was wet. Add that to the fact that my front tires don't have too much tread left, and I ended up sliding over the yellow line and sideswiping a pickup truck. Lucky for me the guy was nice. Even luckier for me was the fact that he was first in a line of cars and he was WHERE he was, because otherwise I would have had a head-on collision and I wouldn't still be driving my car.
The point is, there is no such thing as a GOOD REASON to go 120 on an empty road. Period. I was going the SPEED LIMIT and I ended up having an accident. What exactly do you plan on doing when a piece of rubber from a truck's tire appears in front of you at 120 mph? I can guarantee that at that speed, even YOU don't know how your car will react to ANY exaggerated amount of steering input. If I were you, at that speed, I'd probably choose to hit the thing and just hope it didn't destroy my car and cause what would likely be a fairly big and highly deadly crash.
You, are the kind of driver that only exaggerates the problem with teens and cars.
Illegal Street racing is Glorified in both Fast and the Furious, AND Need for Speed, this kind of racing is unprofessional anyway, and doesn't create the same buzz as real racing.
One of my closest friends in the US is a street racer. SHE (see, it's not JUST males) still has nightmares about a wreck 3 years ago, I asked her why she doesn't go to a track, there aren't any near her. One of her best friends nearly died in a collision with an innocent driver.
Yes. But street racing led to both stock car racing and drag racing. You try asking anyone (and I've asked my friend), if they get the same kind of buzz street racing as legal racing, the answer is yes
Street racing is glorified, yes. But so is wrestling, so is boxing, so is soccer. All of them have illegal, underground parts of the sport. So why should people think that soccer is only the Premiership, the cream of the crop.
If I can use a soccer analogy, to me, street racing is to soccer what kids playing in the park is to F1
I really think that once or twice a year, more tracks near places like NJ and stuff should open the track for a small fee to anyone who wants to take their car for a spin, to get it out of their system. Otherwise people just get more and more tempted to drive fast just ONCE on a public road to relieve the need for speed.
Except that playing football in the park is fairly unlikely to kill anyone, whilst street racing is fairly likely to end in tears, and not just for the street racer, but also innocent parties.
I don't give a flying monkies if a street racer gets nightmares afterwards, or nearly dies. As far as I'm concerned they got what was coming to them. But I do care about the innocent parties, who have to live knowing their son/daughter/father/mother/uncle etc was wiped out by some twat in a hatchback who couldn't be bothered to drive properly in the given circumstances.
Tracks are, sometimes, a bit of a trek away. But it is ALWAYS worth it.
I'm not sure. All I know is that I've looked into bringing the old Subie to a track just to run a few laps, only to find out that you have to pay like 2 grand for a small session. So instead, I take my energy out on my neighborhood street (the neighbors always know when I come home, cause they hear me screeching sideways onto my street, lol.)
Ok. So a 17-18 y/o with a part time job, in college and restoring a car can afford to drive up to 3hrs away and pay $2000 for an hour's running? I don't think so
You don't get my analogy. I compared low-level soccer, such as kids in the park, to A-league soccer.
When I was 17/18, restoring a car whilst in college (no really, I was!), I drove 5 hours away and paid about £140 for about 1hr30 track time (approx $300, plus fuel to get there).
So, yes, I do think so. Better than killing someone.
If you can't afford it, then DON'T DO IT AT ALL. It doesn't make it any better being short of funds.
Regarding the analogy - I got it fine. You compared park footie to professional footie, and compared that to illegal, irresponsible street racing done only be morons (incl. your friend who is lame enough to complain about nightmares she fully deserves) to F1. Not a very good analogy really.
If you compared illegally killing children playing footie in the park you might be closer to the truth.
There should be clubs that arrange public autocross events on those big parking lots. But no, flowerhats say it makes noise and is not good for god knows what. So they create problem themselves.
I really don't think many people have actually got what this article is proposing. As far as real-life street racing goes, you either like it or you don't: there's not going to be any middle ground and no room for agreement.
Analogies will therefore be pointless.
However, the original article was suggesting that it should be "discouraged" in all other media. How, is not stated, nor does it even begin explore whether other forms of fantasy that deal with illegal material should be "discouraged" too. I shouldn't even need to resort to analogy to describe how impoverished cinema, literature, gaming, in fact culture in general, will become if we follow to a logical conclusion what is being suggested.
"Get Carter". One of my favourite movies, but basically its all about a gangster who kills people. Quite mercilessly. Its not a mistake, its not due to misjudgement, its cold and deliberate murder. And he's the hero. Should we discourage people from watching this film? If not, then why is there any reason (apart from aesthetic!) to discourage people from watching or even producing films like 2F2F, or games like NFS?
Because F&F and NFS are quite big load of shite. Badly made titles optimized to take money out of pocket from those that don't use their brain, but go all by feeling (common to street racers too).
Edit: oh yes, be with or against us, right, well if that is not stupid, then what is stupid? World is analog, there are more blends than precise forms, I really can't express how much I hate hate such narrow thinking as that resembles, why people won't open their eyes and try to think with reason, not with feeling as when thinking with reason you will see that there always is some other possibilities than those two.
People who street race are idiots, not everybody that drives a car wants to race, that's why when you are at a race track, everybody DOES want to race. Everyone knows the dangers,, and if anyone DOES get injured or killed, it's not because they were 'innocent'.
The fact is Fang, if your friend can afford to needlessly burn out her clutch, brakes and tyres because of street racing, but not afford to go racing, and break less of her car doing so, something is wrong.
I agree with both your statements, especially the second, edited one (though I agree wholeheartedly too about the badly made, money grubbing titles...). But your second statement seems to suggest that there is a place for street racing, that there is a form of racing that is one of the many blends in the world, that it may be illegal, even immoral, but that neither of those two categories are enough to dismiss it out of hand.
Problem is where to we draw a line, If I do 90kph on 80kph area, while overtaking is that street racing? What if I happen to be first in lights and pull bit faster than your average Joe, is this racing?
I'm sure that in minds of many those are stupid activity etc. But really it has more into it than just obeying limits and that.
If teens get some industrial street closed at night time and race there, I really have much against it, they go there by their will and if they happen to wreck then it is their fault, it is unlikely that innocent people will get involved.
At open streets where are other people and cars however one need to stay clear of his and car's limits as there always are some lesser people that can jump on street from side walk or run red lights etc. Good driver predicts possibilities and allows enough safety margin that he can successfully avoid accidents that would be other's fault.
So I'm not really completely against street racing, but it has to be responsible manner, preferably there should be organized street events.
Bans and such create only underground culture, if people want to do something they do no matter what, so better to guide safe direction instead.
This was part of the point I was trying to get across. Some places are more dangerous than others and those who look for the safest way to do something dangerous shouldn't be placed into the same group as those who recklessly weave in and out of stop and go traffic following a friend.
I really wish there was some sort of allowance for a bit o' fun in empty parking lots. There are many complexes near where I live that have GIANT abandoned parking lots, where a bunch of kids could have a field day with a couple cones in a safe manner. The local POLICE should set up weekly or monthly autocross courses in such a place. That would really be an interesting way to reduce racing accidents on the road.
No, you don't know what you are talking about. The reason separate tracks for Racing are available, is to STOP people from going on the roads. These people think they are on NFS or think they are Vin Diesel, face it. Wether you are in a parking lot, industrial estates, or on the motorway, accidents can happen, and more
