We warn our youth about the dangers of speed. We plead with them to obey the rules, to think before getting behind the wheel. Unfortunately, society delivers an opposing message. It's a message that equates success and bravado with horsepower and speed. So how do we win? How do we ensure our message is the one that dominates the cerebral cortex of adolescent males?
 |
| While it's obvious enforcement is the key, the impromptu nature of street racing makes it hard to be in the right place at the right time. (Photo: The Fast and the Furious) |
The obvious deterrent to street racing is enforcement. But guess what, enforcement is not highly effective. Many obstacles impede its success. First of all, the police need to gather the evidence necessary to convict a street racer. This is no easy task. Street racing takes two basic forms. There is the straight-line drag between two or more cars. These events are often pre-planned by underground groups of street racers. Locations for these events vary and are discreetly communicated through cell-phone networks and word-of-mouth. Straight-line racing also occurs on an impromptu basis when two racers find themselves side by side at a traffic light.
 |
| Proving that a person was actaully street racing and not just speeding can create controversy. (Photo: The Fast and the Furious) |
The second form of street racing and the most dangerous for the racer and the motoring public is the Cannonball Run. This event is also organized, but utilizes various start and finish locations. A group of racers meet at a pre-arranged location such as a shopping mall. They drop the flag and depart en-mass, racing through traffic on public roads to a pre-arranged destination.
Given the unpredictability of where and when street races will occur, combined with the difficulty in proving the driver was actually engaged in a race and not just late for dinner, enforcement is a less than ideal solution. Even when a conviction is registered, controversy will likely surround the severity of the penalty.