RobK

+1!!!!! I for one am tired of all the "kills" B U L L S H I T that pops up around here. It's absolutely juvenile.

I seriously think states need to impose limitations on teens driving with passengers. They're just not mature enough (flame away kids!). It should be zero sub-21 passengers below age 18. Maybe even 19 or 20 (get them past high school). I just heard on the news 5 minutes ago a study that indicated that car wrecks are the #1 cause of death for teens from 16-19. My state (PA) is working on imposing curfues, but I doubt that will work. They need to keep the passengers out to eliminate all of the goading and peer pressure. I know this won't be a popular opinion with the younger folks on these boards, but such is life. You need to EARN the priviledge to drive and you need to PROVE that you're mature enough to drive with others in the car with you.

pittperson

PA, has curfews (not curfues). By law, anyone under 18 must be off the road between 11pm and 5am. It's been like that since 1999. How enforceable is it? Not very, but it exists. And last time I checked, you do earn the privilege (not priviledge) to drive. You have to pass an exam in order to receive your permit. You are required to keep that permit for a minimum of 6 months and accrue 50 hours of adult supervised driving. After that the driver must pass another written exam and the road test.

Am I a kid? No, I'm married, work a 50+ hour a week job and own a house (I must be doing something right). Was I kid? Yes, and it is not fair to group all "kids" into the category of "immature, reckless, and stupid." I for one was not part of that group. I'd like to remind everyone that a kid is a direct descendant of their parents. So quit your moaning and groaning about kids being irresponsible and focus that energy on making adults better parents! I know mine would have ripped my keys and license right out of my hands if I showed up at home with a ticket.

Although I don't "condone" street racing, it's going to happen. It's been happening since day one and it will continue to happen. It's a fact of life.

I find it hard to believe that anyone who owns a 300 horsepower Mustang has not opened it up on the street at least once thus putting innocent bystanders in the way. "Oh, but I did it at 2am on an open four lane freeway," does not make it any safer. What about the old man who forgot to turn his lights on after pulling back onto the freeway? Slim? Yes. Possible? Yes!

(I must be in a bad mood, I typically could care less about threads like this)

SunKing

It's very sad - but this type of thing happens a lot. Here in Houston - an 8 month pregnant mom was killed by street racers just a few days ago:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...e/4989210.html

Indeed - take it to the track people!!!

RobK

Hey, thanks for the spell check. The world is now a better place. I guess you never had five friends die in a stupid wreck when you were in high school did you? It has ZERO to do with what sort of kids they are or what sort of parents they have. It's a fact of life, kids in their teens are struggling to find their own identity and desperately want to fit in and be accepted by others. Individually they could all be angels, but put them together in a car and it all goes out the window. Especially if there's another car full of kids involved. Look, I'm not standing on my soapbox here. My opinions are based on my personal experiences. I too am married, have kids, a house, a dozen cars and work my *** off. I'm not an old fart. I've been there and done that. I KNOW it happens. I used to actively instruct a car control clinic that was geared toward young drivers teaching them the skills they should have learned in their lame-*** driver's ed classes. Unfortunately, the majority of the kids that participated had been involved in some sort of accident. Of those about 30% had been involved in an accident with a fatality. The fact that it's been going on forever doesn't mean it should be accepted. I know there are some "kids" that have their heads screwed on straight and are smart enough (and ascertive enough) to keep a level head behind the wheel, but I have to say that they would be the minority in my neck of the woods.

By the way, my friends that were killed all had GPAs of 3.5 or higher at a prestigious private school. Four of them were accomplished athletes. They were playing around with some kids in another car on a small road with significant elevation changes. They went airborne over the crest of a hill. When they came down on the other side the crossmember broke allowing the motor and crossmember to fold under the floorpan and catapult the car into a pole and a stand of trees. All were killed on impact.

Too bad you don't normally care about threads like this.

Bullitt995

WHAT?!?!?! Street racing.....dangerous??? My god, thank you for this thread, I believe it has saved many lives (including my own).

This thread reeks of hipocracy.

SunKing

Give me a f*ckin' break. How is my posting in this thread hypocritical??? In my opinion - a thread like this NEEDS to posted every once and a while. I have found that there are a LOT of younger people on this board (young to me is anything under 25). I've even read threads from teenagers whos parents have gotten them a nice new GT! Now, for every "kill" thread - I think it's important for all those youngsters to AT LEAST be exposed to the other side of the argument.

pittperson

I can live with that. For every "kill" thread we get one sobering "reality" thread.

zaghloul

I am a smoker, however I warn kids not to start smoking. Does that make me a hypocrite?

jacostang

Well kids are going to do what kids do and sometimes it's gonna cost them big time. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much you tell them what might happen or look at what happened. They are going to have to make good or bad decisions on their own but the peer pressure doesn't make things any easier for them. In Arizona I think they are passing a law that only 1 passenger with a driver under the age of 18. Will that help?, who knows.

Chris728

Im one of those teenagers but i myself paid for my GT with my own money. It would be better to point this thread to everybody and not just teenagers because the first week i had my GT i was being hasseled by a person thats my dads age to race me at a stop light. Its not just the kids who can be idiots you know. Just yesterday i was driving home from work dead tired at 10:30 pm and some idiot in his 30's in a comaro starts reving his engine at me. The light turns green and i get up to the speed limit and the idiot is on my ***.

SunKing

You're right. Anyone of any age can do stupid things - point well taken. However, I would guess that if we put up a poll asking "For those who have illegally STREET raced in the past 6 months - what is your age??" I'm guessing the bell curve would lean towards those under 25.

More importantly, I think *some* younger people are more easliy 'influenced' by thier peers - or maybe some cool 'killer' thread they read here.

Of course - I didn't post in this thread to debate 'young vs. old'. I posted because I had just read about that poor pregnant mom and her family who were hit by street racers here in my home town - and felt it appropriate to post that info here.

THEN - and perhaps I'm a little sensitive about this - but someone tries to insinuate that I - or others posting in this tread are being hypocritical. Well, that just didn't fly with me.

RobK

You're absolutely right that this would be appropriate for all folks, but it's a matter of statistics and those involved in this particular incident. I'm glad to hear you have a vested interest in your car and I'm glad to hear that you handle it responsibly.

bc317

Great post Chris!!! Your right, idiots do come in all ages and stupidity isn't confined to the young.

jacostang

That's for sure!!!!

mrkabc

I agree with Bullitt995...

I don't like the condescending "take it to the track" sneers I see here... you all mean to tell me you NEVER street race? I find that hard to believe...

FTR, I don't like street racing and those idiots that "bob and weave" through traffic. However, I HAVE gunned it away from lights before and played a bit with some ricers.

When someone sneers at me, "take it to the track" my response is, "how?!?!" They won't let me on a track with a 'Vert. (not without installing an expensive, unsightly roll cage). So what do I do??

"The track" isn't the end all be all. I would encourage people to BE AWARE AND DON'T BE STUPID. 'Nuff said.

RobK

Stupid safety equipment.


FTR - I never street race. I don't feel the need to prove my manliness to every schmuck that revs his motor next to me at a stoplight.

stangster

At that age a lot of kids think they are immortal and invincible. Most of us thought the same thing too (for me that was several decades ago). It's a good reminder why road racing is never cool - innocent people can die.

spooky

well technically, this is a kill thread.

mrkabc

Yep... stupid safety equipment that wasn't required before 2007...

If we didn't need roll bars LAST YEAR and I am willing to take the risk of running on the track with a 'Vert, (and possible consequences) what's the problem?!?!

End result is no track for meeeeee... and people like me. That doesn't mean I am going to go street race. HOWEVER, I can understand a person's frustration when being flippantly told to "take it to the track".

Platitudes... Platitudes... Platitudes...

kkoch

Putting yourself in a situation like that is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately when you make the decision to step into the back of a person known as a street racer, a person who may be an aquantance or may be a friend your taking that risk. And if you dont want to be a statistic and risk paying the price then you should stay out of the car. Willingly getting into a car with a young driver who will go barreling down a 35 MPH backroad in upwards of 80 MPH? Isnt rocket science, eventually fate will catch up with you and when it does you had better hope its pretty merciful. Kind of like having a bike, eventually your going to crash. Most times will you dump it, maybe even on the highway you will slide it off to the side get some road rash and never get into a spill again. Or maybe you will hit a small animal dump it in the middle of the interstate and get grilled by an eighteen wheeler. Either way, when you make that decision you should be comfortable with the worst case scenario. Thats what makes it a rush I guess, unfortunately for some, the rush is much less enjoyable when you, your family or your friends end up dead and your looking at 20 years in prison.