Friday, October 19, 2007

Too Fast, Too Furious.


I've written here before about my enthusiasm for import tuners. I also pointed out the dark side to that hobby, namely illegal racing and personal excess.

Alicia asked me the other day if I had heard about a little girl killed by street racers. I hadn't, as most of the news sites and blogs I read cover political news, and such stories rarely get any play. It piqued my curiosity, though, because I love racing and driving, and bad examples of this outrage me.

It turns out that such instances are on the rise, and stupidity does not discriminate. What are these guys trying to prove? I understand the desire to go faster than the other guys, and I've accumulated my share of speeding tickets. What any serious driver knows, however, is that there is nothing safe about pushing a car to the limit of its performance, and it shouldn't be done anywhere. Fortunately, these criminals may soon get their reward.

If you've got to prove something, then go to the local racetrack, most of which host street-legal drags on the weekends. You can race in a controlled and (reasonably) safe environment. Life isn't a video-game; there is no reset button, and no second chances.