A Unique Approach to Curing the Street Racing Epidemic
It's exhilarating. It's daring and thrilling, not to mention extremely dangerous and foolhardy. I've done it. Many of my friends have done it and there exists a very good possibility that you have done it. I am talking about street racing. Fortunately most adolescents grow out of this phase of reckless invincibility, with both mind and major body parts intact. Sadly though the leading cause of death, bar none, among youth aged 13-21 is automobile accidents.
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| Street racing of the past: scary suspension, lousy brakes and big V8 torque. (Photo: www.racepics.net) |
The loss of young lives, the crippling and maiming of robust adolescents and the over-whelming grief thrust upon those left behind is far too often the result of the need for speed. I cringe when I reflect back some twenty-plus years on my days of wild abandon. Cars with scary suspension systems, lousy brakes and gobs of American V8 torque. Each seat filled with teens stacked like bags of groceries. Oh sure, we knew there were risks but we were great drivers, or so we thought.
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| With the increase in the marketing of speed and power, it can be argued that the popularity of street racing has risen dramatically. (Photo: The Fast and the Furious) |
Today, young adults are just as determined to race their cars on the public roadways as we were. I would even argue that the primitive male need to assert himself on roadways has intensified. Open a glossy magazine and you'll see it, flick on the tube and it'll be there, check out the titles of the top selling video games or take in an action movie. It's the glorification of power and speed, the marketing of high-velocity driving - zoom, zoom, zoom.