[ZTWsquared]

Adam … there’s nothing in here that IMO would get you banned – it’s your opinion and you’ve expressed it respectfully. On the other hand I can’t agree with much of it.

NOS2Go4Me,Apr 17 2007, 02:53 PM Wrote:Street racing has been around for over 60 years. It has been likely happening since cars were introduced to the public, and this new legislation will not make it go away. If nothing else, as mentioned earlier... it'll just get worse.

This is almost like saying “it used to be okay to hit a guy over the head with a club and take his woman – why isn’t it acceptable now?” And if you think this legislation (or any legislation) in and of itself can change anything, then you’re not getting it. The only thing legislation can do is set the rules of behaviour, then it’s up to the rest of us to behave that way. If everyone says “we can’t change” – then guess what – everyone’s right. But we’re not talking about the behaviour of the majority, we’re not even talking about the behaviour of a large minority – it’s a small group of people and only if the rest of us demonstrate we’re not going to accept it, will anything change.

NOS2Go4Me,Apr 17 2007, 02:53 PM Wrote:A lot of us are gearheads, but how many of us have parents who are/were gearheads? How many of THEM streetraced in the 60s/70s? How many of THEIR parents streetraced in the 40s/50s? Come on guys... this is nothing new. It'll be around with the next generation of drivers too unless we give up that much of our rights such that Big Brother always knows where we all are, how fast we're going, who we voted for in the last election, etc.

That previous generations did it is irrelevant – previous generations did lots of things we don’t find acceptable now and for good reason. It’s called societal evolution. And nobody has a right to street race – never did – so the fact that it was at one time tolerated, much the same as drinking and driving was tolerated, doesn’t make it smart, safe, reasonable, or acceptable now.

NOS2Go4Me,Apr 17 2007, 02:53 PM Wrote:His friend became half a friend. A horrible tragedy that all the lemmings will say "could have been prevented".

Sorry Adam but I think you’ve got it backwards here … it’s the lemmings who say “let’s do things the way we’ve always done them, and let’s do things because other people do them.” Those who look at the edge of the cliff and say, “uhh, no thanks” are anything but lemmings; and those who try to explain to the others why jumping over the cliff may not be a good thing (even though everyone else is doing it) are also not lemmings.

NOS2Go4Me,Apr 17 2007, 02:53 PM Wrote:There's always inherent risk in anything you do. There's risk at the dragstrip. There's risk in going to get groceries.

Perfect analogy – thanks for the setup. Here’s the thing – when my wife and kids go to get groceries I don’t want them to be put at the same risk as if they were at a drag strip – yes, there’s risk associated in doing both – but they are (or should be) inherently different risks with different ways of mitigating the risk. There’s no way my wife should be concerned on a public road about two people racing.

NOS2Go4Me,Apr 17 2007, 02:53 PM Wrote:What needs to be punished here is a group of asshats who can't stop making it a spectacle. Street racing happens every day and by and large no-one gets hurt. On occasion, it does spill out into the public and those responsible should be brought to justice. For those tards, I say lock em up and throw away the key, cut up the license.

Again IMO you’re missing the point. Punishing the “unlucky” racers who on the rare occasion injure or kill someone is totally lacking in sense, because if the behaviour or activity is tolerated at all someone’s always going to be unlucky, and someone innocent is bound to be hurt.

NOS2Go4Me,Apr 17 2007, 02:53 PM Wrote:There's nothing that this legislation will do to street racing that will improve the conditions for those that want to get to the track but they can't.

Sorry I have no sympathy for this line of reasoning … there’s a lot of people who can’t get to the zoo but that doesn’t mean it’s reasonable to keep lions and tigers in the basement – and if you think that argument is somewhat ridiculous then you get my point.

NOS2Go4Me,Apr 17 2007, 02:53 PM Wrote:No spectators. No betting. Just 2 cars going at it for a quarter mile. Anything else isn't a "street race". It's fantasy nonsense, lived out by morons who can't discern between fiction and reality.

I also agree with Kev, build more f'ing tracks and make it a little easier to get insurance so that the track can actually operate without going bankrupt in a year. Even circle tracks have this problem. [right][snapback]235150[/snapback][/right]

Okay – hands up. Who besides me has signed up for the SVTOA track weekend at Dunnville? I rest my case.

Don’t kid yourself … this isn’t about access to tracks. The people who are really and truly interested in racing will find a way to do it legally. The people who truly know about the dynamics of a vehicle and the physics behind driving them fast would never put themselves or others at risk by racing on public road– street racing is nothing more than a romantic pseudonym for dangerous and irresponsible driving. And that deserves to be punished whether or not a collision is involved.