With the new addition to the Fast and Furious series, many teens find themselves racing the streets trying to contest their friends.
Unfortunately, in reality street racing may be fast, furious but more importantly – fatal. For too many street racers and their innocent victims, the finish line is the hospital bed or the morgue. For others it’s court and jail.
Street racing is a serious and reckless form of aggressive driving.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, speeding and loss of control resulted in over 360 deaths in 2003.
Street racers are at risk of being charged under the Criminal Code of Canada. In particular, if a police officer has a reason to believe an offence was committed, drivers can face an immediate seven day licence suspension and seven day vehicle impoundment irrespective of who owns the car. If convicted, drivers can face fines up to $10,000, six demerit point, license suspensions of two years and many more legal consequences. Stunt driving, is similar to street racing and is defined as driving 50km/h above the posted limit which can consists of similar sanctions against those convicted.
Many parents may be unaware that their teenagers are participating in street racing.
One of the most evident signs to indicate your teen is a racer is modifications to their car. Performance enhancing modifications such as low profile tires, lowered suspension, modified air intake and slick tires are examples of common accessories for street racers. In addition, before handing over the keys to your teen, be sure to look for excessive wear on tires. Monitor interest in movies/games related to racing and watch for increased cost for maintenance and parts. Speak to your teenager about dangerous driving, careless driving and racing fines so that as a community we can eliminate racing activities on streets everywhere.
