First. I'm not condoning it, nor am I expecting anyone else too. However, there seems to be a disproportionate media hype regarding street racing.
I just came back from TX2K17. One amazing event that most of the internet knows for the 1320 Street Racing videos.
Local Houston news was all in an uproar and there where several articles/reports about police increasing patrols and setting up stings. Apparently TX2K16 saw 8 arrests. Many areas are pushing laws to allow car seizures, huge fines, zero tolerance and jail time.
I find this all... bizarre. Looking for statistics, many current ones are unavailable.
However, one study shows between 1998-2001, there where 149,568 traffic deaths. A STAGGERING 315 where related to street racing (0.002%).
Another article cites -
So here is the kicker - with all the zero tolerance and up roar, you'd think we have some epidemic. The reality is that 37,000 people die each year driving. Roughly 3,200 of those die because of cell-phone distractions. Additionally, 11,000 of those people die each year because of drunk driving. That rivals the gun violence statistics.
Anyway - done ranting.
I just came back from TX2K17. One amazing event that most of the internet knows for the 1320 Street Racing videos.
Local Houston news was all in an uproar and there where several articles/reports about police increasing patrols and setting up stings. Apparently TX2K16 saw 8 arrests. Many areas are pushing laws to allow car seizures, huge fines, zero tolerance and jail time.
I find this all... bizarre. Looking for statistics, many current ones are unavailable.
However, one study shows between 1998-2001, there where 149,568 traffic deaths. A STAGGERING 315 where related to street racing (0.002%).
Another article cites -
Statistics on street racing accidents are difficult to find, likely because drivers don’t want to admit involvement. Additionally, as noted in a report published last fall in USA Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) recently changed their parameters for reporting on street racing. NHTSA data shows that 153 people died in 122 racing-related collisions in the U.S. from 2001 to 2010. This statistic only includes incidents where at least one driver was charged with illegal racing. Previously, the agency used a broader definition that (more accurately) included all crashes where investigators concluded that racing was involved. Under that framework, 1,047 people died in racing incidents from 2001 to 2008.
So here is the kicker - with all the zero tolerance and up roar, you'd think we have some epidemic. The reality is that 37,000 people die each year driving. Roughly 3,200 of those die because of cell-phone distractions. Additionally, 11,000 of those people die each year because of drunk driving. That rivals the gun violence statistics.
Anyway - done ranting.