This morning at 3:30 AM in Paradise, the paradise part went out the window for the families of 4 people who died in a accident on the H1 Freeway here. A road crew who was checking the highway and laying down cones for the opening of the ZIP Lane got rearended while riding in a flat bed truck. Passenger in truck died when he could not get out of vehicle and truck was engulfed in flames. Driver and passenger of 1st car to hit the truck both died in the fire. Person in the 2nd car that hit the 1st also died. Cars were spotted racing on the highway and hit the truck after coming over a hill and did not have time to react but then GOING 100 MPH in a 55 and only having about 75 feet to change lanes without notice i dont think i could either. FOr those that like to street race and I know most of us did at one time esp when young, please remember these pics and the aftermath of who you hurt. How wouldyou like to receive a call from your spouses work saying you were killed in a accident!!!


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Check outhow the first cars roof got peeled back after impact, makes you wonder how they died huh. Also with the long weekend this could happen after a night out drinking also. Lets all get back here safe and sound come Tuesday

I agree Jeff. Here is a story here in Az about racing and it's effects. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0213DragRacingDeath.html The incredible thing is that this is at least the 2nd or 3rd street racing accident with serious injuries in the last few weeks. When will these idiot street racers learn. That is what the track is for!
graemlins/clonk.gif Bill

The recent accidents in Phoenix are just flat out sad. Two 20ish racers killed, single father of two young kids killed yesterday. We have tracks here with open test and tune nights. Tonights news interviewed some of the "crowd" at PIR. They don't get it. Lots of casual attitudes.

i suppose the local news broadcasts and local newspapers all called it "an illegal DRAG RACING accident". if they did, it might be time to fire off a few e-mails to the editors and get them to call it what it was- illegal street racing stupidity.

Accident? ....I thought that was a staged event to promote "Fast and the Furious part III" tongue.gif

And just think, test and tune night at my closest drag stip only costs $10.00 for as many times you want to run all night long.................
graemlins/sad.gif

It's just sad. A total waste.

But everyone keeps saying to "keep it on the track" or "run it all night long at the strip for $10". That's not going to cut it for these street racers. Those people weren't drag racing to see who wins. They were road racing.... long distances at high speeds just like Fast & Furious. How many road courses are there in your area? There's NONE for hundreds of miles around me. The only place for the ricers to shake down their rides is on the highways and through your neighborhood. Their cars are setup for handling, not straight runs for 1/4 mile. The only way for them to justify spending all their money on a more powerful engine and better handling suspension is to rip through your town as fast as they can.

Crap like that accident are the result. They got their 15 minutes of fame in the obituaries.
Fast & Furious my butt!

Hwy star you certainly have a point on the road racing. But, only one of these wrecks were at high speed on a freeway, the other two were on congested city streets. Both of the street wrecks involved stock pickups racing cars from intersections. One of the cars, a honda civic (broadsided and killed a guy) may have been using nitrous during his blast down the street. There was an underhood fire after the wreck and the news, for what thats worth keeps stating "he had" nitrous.

AND just about ALL the new vehicle ads out nowasdays are pushing first, SEX and then HORSEPOWER, in high dollar, one-off, "you otta be different and buy the powerful, high-zoot model" packages...

Street racing's, NOT DRAG RACING, a bad deal so what are we going to do about it??

FLAT DON'T KNOW B/C THEY DON'T TEACH "RESPONSIBILITY" IN SCHOOL AND MOM AND DAD CAN'T BE BOTHERED!!!

pdq67

I don't want to push all of the blame on this new bad generation. I don't know about all of you guys, but I did plenty of stupid stuff when I was younger....and I mean REALLY STUPID stuff. It's a wonder that I'm alive today.

It's easy for me to sit here at 35, being married with kids and having gone though that season in my life to just shake my head and say that they must be just growing them dumb these days. I'm not sure that's the case though.

I don't have the solution and I don't think that they make a "responsibility pill" to fix these kids. When I was a kid if my dad found out that I was into something that I shouldn't be, he just communicated his concerns (by whipping my a$$) until he felt satisfied that he had made his point. Maybe todays kids need their parents to give them a few "old school" talks?

Exactly, a swift kisk in the a$$ would do these people good.

I will be the first to admit when I was a kid I was flat out of control behind the wheel and I wonder how I even made it to today. I used to race my buddies on the highway, passing on the shoulder etc... Just plain stupid. When I got into cars that handle I would go out to the backroads (twisty country roads) an rip through them. I was never dumb enough to tear through a neighborhood (if my oarents would have benn told I would not be here typing cause they would have beat me silly).

I agree most places don't have a place and the cars are not even legal to "road race" so they show off/challenge each other on the street never thinking for a minute what "could" happen (most of us have been there).

I don't know what can really be done about it, without throwing everyone under a blanket, meaning if I am speeding in my Camaro and get pulled over I don't want the cop to be able to say "he was street racing" and be able to take away my car. There needs to be some sort of law or something to "discourage" this type of stuff.

Going fast on the freeway/highway is not "illegal DRAG racing" as the media seems to like to call it.

It's terrible that people had to lose their life and I have seen way to many of these stories lately, I just know that boys/young men don't always think like they should. This is the reason my son and daughter both will be taken to the track to make a few passes so they will know where "racing" belongs. They will have no excuse if they are caught being stupid on the street.


Kiss your loved ones everytime you/they leave cause you don't know if you or them are going to make it home. Sad but true.

Edit. Paulm I agree 100% I happen to be one of those "old school" raised guys, and I am raising my kids the same way, fair but no BS. I am the same age as you 36 and it sounds like we are on the same page. Having kids of your own definitely opens your eyes.

Very sad and stupid.I drag raced on the street when I was young and stupid now 35 and know better.But we never raced through neighbor hoods or city streets not to say we were right but we went to the country. Cant take it back just glad none of us got hurt or hurt anyone.

This is just the kind of stuff that I hate to see. Here we go again. It won't be long before new laws are enacted to get the "hotrodders" off the road. And by that, it'll include ANYONE going in excess of the speed limit, regardless of age or type of car. Were going to get "dumbed-down" again. Speed limits will start coming back down, enforcement will go way up...speed kills, blah blah blah...(anyone remember when they tried to reduce speeding by limiting the number to, what was it, 85, on the speedometers of most cars?)
Look, I dont want to get off on an another rant here, but it doesn't take a grant from the NHTSA to realize that the problem isn't speed, its lack of driver education! You give any pimply-faced, raging-hormone 16 year old a permit just because he sat in a class in high school, and from there he gets his license after a short test in Mommy's sedan. THIS IS NOT DRIVER EDUCATION! But because we can't seem to be bothered with really educating drivers to drive safely, we lower the speed limits so when they do crash, and they will, maybe they wont kill or be killed. So, once again, pandering to the lowest common denominator, or "dumbing-down" the speed limits is the answer. We have freeways that are capable of moving traffic effectively at higher speeds, reducing congestion, yet we dont allow the higher speeds because most of us cant drive that fast without crashing. And thats because there are drivers licenses in the hands of idiots who you wouldn't trust on a moped! And buying a Volvo is NOT the answer! Driving is a talent, and as such it must be learned, practised and refined. And if you don't posess the talent you should NOT be driving. PERIOD. Thats why God made Greyhound.
In Europe they have the Autobahn, and in England the M5, and I'm sure others as well, and as long as you are driving responsibly, they pretty much leave you alone. What I DIDN'T see over there was someone doing 55 in the passing lane! If you pull up behind someone and give them a little flash with the high beams (or passing lights)they immediately pull over to let you pass. Here, if they even notice that there's anyone else on the road, you usually get the finger.
Street racing? I'm against it, but I'm afraid its effect is going to filter down to all of us. And it wont be in the form of increased education...itll just be tickets and fines and accidents and death. We are all being forced to drive at the level of the stupidest drivers in the world.
And lets hope you dont live in a state where money is tight and the deficit is so enormous that "revenue-generating" tickets and fines, primarily from freeway speeding, seems to be a good idea to lawmakers to help fill the coffers.
I know what I'm talking about. Back in the 80's I operated 21 traffic violator schools in Northern California. You should see some of the idiots that showed up in class...and thats just the ones they caught! Other people were just caught up in the aforementioned revenue-generating bunch, but they all had to sit through the same class. Ridiculous! We need adequate and madatory ongoing driver education.

Or not....

I see what you mean Steve W. About 7 years ago there was a wreck about three miles from my house. I live on a 4 lane US hwy with a turning lane in the middle. A drunk driver was speeding crossed the turn lane in a curve and hit a car head on killed 3 adults and 4 kids.They lowered the speed limit 2 months later citing the wreck as the reason.The 55mph limit did not cause the wreck it was the drunk.Now that 2 mile strech is from the curve to town is a speed trap.Speed was lowered to 45.

Here in the Northwest...It's "road-rage" all over the news. If a cop even suspects that you are driving "agressively", then they may cite you for road rage. It's horrible how everyone needs to get 1 car length ahead and then slam the brakes to keep from hitting the tailgater in front of them. My Dad taught me to stay in the same lane as long as practical and that you would make it to where you're going as easily as the guy bouncing around all the lanes. I used to pick a car in another lane that was erratic, and keep an eye on him...before long I would usually pass him :D And the thing about it is I think we're ALL guilty of it at one time or another. Nobody drives perfect ALL the time. But you can usually tell when someone's doing it to be a jacka$$...
I would say that I've seen a wreck on I-5 at least every month for the past several years just commuting to/from work. graemlins/sad.gif The best thing to do is pick a lane and stick to it, NO STREET RACING WHATSOEVER, and try to be tolerant of the idiots weaving all around! I took the "arrive alive pledge" last summer at our clubs All Chevy Show, and it helps remind me to be a little more patient...


Dan B graemlins/beers.gif

Just last night I took my wife out to a nice fancy dinner. About 3 minutes into the ride we start down a curvy hill and up comes a mitsubishi eclipse and honda civic flying up the road at arount 85 mph. The mitsu came into my lane to pass a slower car and get in front of the civic. He or she driving the Eclipse passed the civic going up a curved hill you can't see around!!!! I went off the road almost into a ditch to not get hit (of course I wanted to bang a "ue" and get there tags for the cops but the old lady said "your acting just like them" - as always she was right - if I ever meet any of you from this site I NEVER SAID THAT!!! LOL). These kids are crazy - They see these movies and think this is what driving a car is all about. Anyone can buy a fast car but only a few are responsible enough to drive them. I see it more and more with these import cars. I grew up on mustang gt's and iroc-z's (26YOA) but I just don't remember us driving this nuts. It needs to stop because it's getting out of control. No one is to blame but the person behind the wheel. My 2 cents

THe sad thing is these kids are all from the "video game era" If you crash and die you just hit reset and start over. Well in real life there is not reset button. I grew up riding bikes, skateboards, go karts, mini bikes. dirt bikes, if you make a mistake and crash it hurt s and you don't forget that. When you crash on a video game you feel no pain. Just wait I think it will only get worse.

I'm at the strange age of 29 - so I see both sides. Please don't take this the wrong way, but there are a lot of people here who are saying "I used to do it BUT" and then are shaking their heads. It’s the classic “do as I say, not as I do (or did).” This is not a problem that was created by video games or by movies. What about all the "moonshiners" that went on to NASCAR and even the great Duntov and Fangio who all started out driving on regular streets at excess speeds? I've been with some "import" friends and have had older guys in Mustangs and Camaros come up and try to pick fights and try to race when we were not doing a thing to provoke anyone. I've had older guys try to race me when I'm sitting at a red-light in my 68. It's unfortunately not "young" kids all the time. I’m almost done reading the “Chevrolet – Racing?” book which even talks about a test session on some back roads blowing past farmers. It's great that most of us here have realized what it means to be responsible, but there are all kinds of people out there of every age, sex, background that are doing this. I won’t even get started on what I’ve seen some motorcycles (both Harleys and sportbikes) doing. I wish I had the answer, but it’s obvious that since this problem has existed since probably horse and buggy times that no one has come up with it I don’t feel so stupid.

That being said, I agree with everything Steve W. said and I also think that EVERYONE should be retested every 5 years or so. I also think license tests should be harder. But I also think some of this is also due to how easy cars are to "drive" and that we need to reevaluate our speed limits, how we construct roads, and how we build cars. I was life flighted once because an older couple cut off a car I was a passenger in and we hit a guardrail head on and then was hit by another car head on at about 50mph. The seat belt saved my life, but I would have walked away if I was wearing a proper 4 or 5 point harness and had a cage around me. But then people could not do all the crazy things they do when they "drive." I had a professor tell me about visiting Germany to see a college friend of his whose dad worked for BMW. When they drove with him, it was always at a high rate of speed with everyone with their seatbelts on, no radio, no conversation, no cell phone, no big gulp, no DVD player - the guy just drove. That sounds so wonderful to me! But street racing would even then still exist. My heart goes out to all of the families. Teach and educate all drivers and let’s start to think about real safety in our cars and roads. Then we can start looking at these pesky speed limit fines.

Proud member of the National Motorists Association Foundation (http://www.motorists.org/) .

Getting off of the soapbox…

George

graemlins/beers.gif

As with all of you, I've seen it, done it, and now I'm older, push for more safety. Good speech, George.

Maybe there should be a Street Racer's Anonymous meeting every week, same as Gambler's Anon., Alcoholic's Anon, etc.

As with every DUI/DWI conviction, one has to attend AA meetings as part of the Rehab program, aka, here in VA, its ASAP, Alcohol Satety Awareness Program. Plus, a bunch of other items, including community service.

Maybe a free ticket to the local race track issued by Rehab would be a plus....

Steve touched on one of the reasons we don't advocate "kill" stories here on TC. It glorifies street racing. Eventually street racing will have an adverse effect on what we enjoy as a hobby. We can't control video games, hollywood or what is allowed on other forum sites but we can try to set an example and nobody will be able to stand up and point to TC and say "That's the reason hotrods and old cars should be in museums, not on the streets."

As for the "do as I say, not as I did" well I think that comes out of respect for life. I know more than young folks participate in speed contests or drive in a way that puts not only their life but others at risk. It starts when young though, so it's best to address it with the young. The thrill is addicting and if one survives a close call it's reason to push further. This is actually how our sports heros get to be the best at what they do. That in itself makes most young folks ignore reason and add it to the fact that most words of caution come from the "authority generation" Well, I think you can see not too many are listening. I will never tell you it was safer to street race in my day, I quit when a friend killed himself at a high rate of speed on a winding mountain road. No one else was involved but it happened 2 turns from a popular place to eat and had he lost control 2 turns sooner he would have taken many innocent people with him... As we grow older the realization is the risk out weighs the thrill and causes us to speak out against street racing. Ya at my age I believe a strangers life is more precious than a thrill!!

There's another risk that needs to be looked at here and we can compare my day to today. Laws have gotten stiffer, and one runs the risk of ruining ones life. Vehicles get impounded and taken away, you can end up in jail as bubbas bride etc. When I was a kid, getting caught with an open container ment pouring it out and listening to the officer's speach. The cops showed up at street scenes and asked us to go home and if you actually were caught in action as I was one time they lectured you and let you go unless you gave them some lip and then you got a ticket and got to drive away. Basically the consquences were less back in the day. I'm talking 70's so imagine the 60's and '50 were even less strict. You just put more on the line today!!