Originally Posted by intenseblu
although i fully agree with you on the street racing is not good for us as a whole... i have to prioritize my issues in a order of how many deaths per year they cause...
1. drunk driving... how is this still a popular activity ? jeez i had two people i know killed by these morons in the past 3 years but it never made any headlines... i guess its old news...
2. SUV driving err steering morons... get the hell off the phone, if i have one more SUV pointed at me i have to dodge i am getting a RPG to launch at them...
3. poorly maintained crap buckets on the road... no brakes and bald tires oooh yea, don't have to be flooring it to run into me, they just can't stop...
4. street racers... eh so they kill a few dozen people per year but dam does the media love their story cause it gets peoples blood boiling... compare the number of deaths from this to the three above and you'd be shocked... what's the difference between them ? all resulted from ignorance... can't tell me someone being ignorant enough to street race is worse than someone ignorant enough not to get tires and brakes cause they're cheap bastards or too busy with their cell phone in their rolling house...
not to cause a argument about this... but the numbers don't lie... so i think we have bigger issues to fry in this country when it comes to our roads... but since its so popular, why wouldn't we fry the street racers (do they even exist anymore, i swear in my area it has died down seriously, thankfully so) ... hell i haven't had more than 3 or 4 people attempt to race me since i got the car (i did not bite... why ruin my comfort hah)...
In 2001, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that police listed street racing as a factor in 135 fatal crashes. The total was up from 72 street-racing-related fatalities reported in 2000.
In San Diego, where the street racing problem has been termed "epidemic," 16 deaths and 31 injuries were directly related to illegal street racing in 2001. The city's attorney's office prosecuted 147 illegal street racing cases in 1999, 161 in 2000, and 290 in 2001.
In Florida in 2001, 7,216 citations were issued for racing on the highway.
In 1999, the Florida Department of Highway and Safety for Motor Vehicles reported 28 accidents related to illegal street racing, with 2 fatalities and 27 injuries. In 2000, the agency reported 39 racing accidents, with 1 fatality and 55 injuries. In 2002, there were 48 racing accidents, 1 fatality, and 60 injuries.
According to the NHTSA, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 16 and 20.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says 5,749 teens died in the United States from motor vehicle crash injuries in 1999.
Nationwide statistics show that 49 people are injured for every 1,000 who participate in illegal street racing.
_______________________
I don't give a crap about street racers killing themselves, it's the innocent victims who are just minding their own business, driving down the street.
