Illegal Street Racing

“Automobiles are not ferocious.... it is man who is to be feared,” as Robbins B. Stoeckel remarked, enumerates a simple, yet fundamental concept- a vehicle in itself is a relatively safe, that is, until you put a person behind the controls. Further adding to the danger is the ever prevalent risk of a fellow driver being impaired by the usage of alcohol; perhaps the only thing that may make such a situation even more difficult and dangerous is one who is under the legal alcohol drinking age. Fewer situations are more life threatening than when an underage driver has been illegally consuming alcohol, yet persists in the belief that he or she retains the ability to drive safely. Thoughts along this line are foolish at best and deadly at

“The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16 to 19 year olds than among any other age group.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 1) “The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. The risk increases with the number of teen passengers.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 1) In the United States motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause death in teens. “In 2010, seven teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 2) This alarming number of casualties could be prevented by educating our teenage drivers prior to them being on their own and operating a couple ton weighing

The Ride along programs are exceedingly favored amongst juveniles that it sometimes becomes the primary or only activity in which they want to participate. Ride along activities are physically strenuous and entails known and unanticipated risks that could result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, death, or damage to property or to third parties when involved in high speed chases. However, most police agency policies on ride alongs fail to cover the guidelines and procedures that should be taken in the course of extreme measures. Each agency that provides a ride along program to its community must include a policy and standard operating procedures for the ride along participant. That is why I will be amending the ride along policy to help deter physical or deadly injuries in every ride along involving high speed chases. The policy will secure a protocol for spontaneous situations that require an aggressive and risk inherent response on the law enforcement officer.

The intricacies that are involved in turning a regular car into a “Street Racer” are many; and racers pour their souls into these magnificent machines. After seeing “the Fast and the Furious” many people have or wanted to become involved in street racing. They do not realize that this is a sport that takes knowledge, hard work, and nerve. Many of these racers have spent their lives under a car, learning the trade and improving upon it. As I have learned, this is not just a hobby; it is a way of life.

Another concern is the behavior of adolescent binge drinkers. In other research it is shown that binge drinkers were more likely to engage in risky driving, such as speeding, running yellow lights, racing other cars, and passing in no passing lanes (Marcotte, T. D., Bekman, N. M., Meyer, R. A., & Brown, S. A. (2012). They also participate more in distractive activities that take their focus away from the road such as changing the station or music on the car stereo system and texting or dialing on their cell phones. In order to reduce the fatalities associated with adolescents and driving under the influence, Graduate Driver Licensing has been implemented in several U.S. States. With the use of Graduated Driver Licensing this would help lower the percentage of fatal crashes by way of new drivers being required to

Evidence from the personal experience of teenagers is used (“…young drivers, only half said they had seen a peer drive after drinking…nearly all, however, said they had witnessed speeding…”); collective evidence (“It’s become a sad rite of passage in many American communities”); statistics (“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that neophyte drivers of 17 have about a third as many accidents as their counterparts only a year younger”) and (“Between July 2004 and November 2006, only 12 provisional drivers were tickets for carrying too many passengers”). The author also used common mores on teen safety; (“…parents will tell you that raising the driving age is untenable, that kids need their freedom…perhaps the only ones who won’t make a fuss are those parents who have accepted diplomas at graduation because their children were no longer alive to do

Over recent decades, driving has almost become a necessity to many young adults since some jobs require a farther commute and colleges are not located in every town. Driving is a privilege and many people neglect this privilege by developing dangerous driving habits. Some of these include speeding, distracted driving, road rage and driving under the influence. In today's age people live a very fast paced, rushed lifestyle. Speeding is becoming a problem because people are impatient. Speeding decreases your reaction time for avoiding collisions and is becoming a profitable scheme for law enforcement through speed traps. I speed all the time and realize the dangers of doing so. I have not been in a collision yet or been pulled over by a police officer because they could not keep

In some cases, this popularity has led to tough anti-street racing laws which give more strict punishments (including misdemeanors for attending race events) than normal traffic citations and also often involve dedicated anti-racing task forces. San Diego, in Southern California was the first US city to allow the arrest of spectators attending street races.Penalties for violating street racing laws now can include impoundment and even destruction of the offending vehicle and/or the suspension or revocation of the offender's drivers

“Driving mishaps can happen to anyone, but they happen all too frequently to teenage drivers because of their lacking significant experience behind the wheel…in recent years, safety experts, elected officials, and public policy experts have focused on strengthening such state laws with the goal of making the roads safer for teens. ” (Andrews, 2) New laws should be made to keep teens and the road a safer place.  The driving age should be raised to 18 to reduce many dangers.

Dangerous driving habits result in the death of thousands of people each year; however, by taking steps to educate young drivers on dangerous habits behind the wheel; countless lives could be saved.

In the United States, Reckless driving is the number one cause of teenage death in the nation. Reckless driving can be classified as anything from speeding and swerving, to purposely trying to run someone over, or hurt them while driving. In America, there are countless organizations calling to help end the high death rate in teenagers that reckless driving takes. People such as Parents, Drivers Education Instructors and even state legislators have realized the problem and are seeking reform. In 2011 alone 2,650 teens between the ages of 16-19 were killed due to reckless driving. (CDC) Reckless driving is a death that is very preventable, with proper education and warning. As well as problem that is not taken seriously by the juvenile’s committing the act. Most juveniles don’t worry what so ever about dying in a car crash because they think that it won’t happen to them. Under Reckless Driving, in Green Bay, speeding, not paying attention and lack of caring are three of the biggest issues with teen drivers and juveniles.

Teen driving is unsafe and dangerous, teen driving is the leading cause of teenage deaths in the United States with more than 5,000 teens dying a year. 17 year old Weston Griggs, killed himself and the 2 passengers he had in his car. But, this accident was no accident. Weston was going 70 mph in a 40 mph speed zone. The issue in this story is that young drivers like Weston, inexperienced and full of adrenaline are just hurting them selves and others by getting behind the wheel at such a young age. Teens between the ages 15 through 17 do not belong on the road. Outrageous amounts of teens are dying every year and these numbers are not changing, so why keep them on the road? Teen driving in the United States have three main problems

There are councils for car and truck clubs so the sport stays organized. Police are hired to keep these vehicles off of the road. When a cop pulls a mini-truck over, it’s usually because of it being too low, or having the stereo system up to loud. But when looking over the vehicle a dozen other violations become apparent. A few of these violations are: no door handles, no windshield wipers, a tinted windshield, frame modifications, or a after market steering wheel. Yet, despite all of the repercussions that may come from altering a vehicle, it is the sheer enjoyment of creativity that gathers so many fans to the sport.

Teens under the age of 19 are more likely to die in accidents than adults. “ A number of studies have shown that passengers substantially increase the risk of crashes for young, novice drivers” (Goodwin). The increased risk results from distractions that young passengers create for drivers. The presence of passengers may increase the likelihood of teenage drivers engaging in explicitly risky behaviors.” Four potentially risky driving behaviors were examined in the driving clips speeding faster than other potentially moving vehicles, speeding too fast for the situation, following too closely,

entertainment? Youngsters are known for partying, sneaking out, drinking; when it is illegal and we can not have people like this causing chaos on our streets. Minors are also distracted too easily with the latest technology, friends and other passengers. Teenagers also like to eat, talk, and groom which is a distraction. A distraction is anything that could divert a person’s attention from their main task, which is driving. Studies have shown sixteen year olds are immature and their mind is not fully developed, and therefore should not be able to drive. They also do not have enough experience as most youth get their license at the age of sixteen and hardly practice safety on the roads before that. Teenagers consistently cause trouble, they should not be permitted to drive until eighteen years of age.