Street racing, as defined by Nevada State law, is “any form of unsanctioned and illegal auto racing which takes place on public roads.”
Drive around the streets of Las Vegas at night, and you wont have any trouble finding behavior which falls under this definition.
It not simply the traditional “drag race”- where racers speed from stoplight to stoplight- these impromptu races are taking place on highways, back-roads, and even in residential areas.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration- a government non-profit which gathers accident related statistics- reports that fatal crashes involving street racing are six times more likely to involve vehicles traveling over 65 mph than fatal crashes not involving street racing.
Street racing has been glamorized in popular culture for years, which many point to as being one of the main causes in an ongoing problem.
Most recently the “Fast and the Furious” (2001-2007) and many video games such as Rockstar’s “Street Racing Syndicate” (2007) have shown that street racing still appeals to youngsters as a form of entertainment.
It is nothing new, resonably popular in the 70’s were movies such as “Vanishing Point” (1971) and “Two Lane Blacktop” (1971) that glamorized the street racing culture.
These new films take these exhibitions of speed to a new level, and as technology has increased and highways have gotten more crowded, even more deadly if attempted in reality.
In 2001, the NHTSA reported that street racing was a factor in 135 fatal crashes nationwide.
In same year, sixteen deaths were reported in the San Diego area alone.
This was enough for the public to stand up and take notice, and new ordinances were passed making penalties for street racing much harsher.
California’s ordinance’s were perhaps the most severe, where anyone found participating in a street race was subject to having there car seized.
That was only the beginning, as the owner was then made to watch as their pride and joy was reduced to scrap metal.
California was not alone, as Oklahoma implemented an ordinance which allowed vehicle seized in illegal street races to be auctioned off to the highest bidder at a government auction.
In 2002 Texas also took notice, where participants in illegal street races face up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. In Nevada, street racers face similar fines and jail sentences. Even spectators can face up to a $500 fine.
Nationally, it seemed that something was being done about this problem becoming so dangerous to the public, and it was.
It seemed that this “crack down” was having a definite positive affect, reducing street racing related fatalities in 2003 to where they were in 1999, at 76.
This success would be short lived, as in 2006 the NHTSA reported 151 street racing fatalities. This was up from 112 in 2005.
These new ordinances are now being dropped, in California police are no longer able to seize cars for longer than 24 hours unless the owner is facing a felony offence, let alone crush them.
This recent increase is nearly a 35 percent jump, which is enough to alarm many when confronted with the information, but the national spotlight is not on the issue as it is was in 2001.
The problem is no longer getting the major media attention that it was when street racing fatalities jumped almost 100 percent- from 1999 to 2001.
I decided to get in touch with the grassroots of legal racing, the Las Vegas Chapter of the SCCA, or Sports Car Club of America. The Club has over 112 regional groups nationwide, including in Las Vegas.
I was able to speak with one of the Regional Directors of the Las Vegas chapter of the SCCA, Russ Baumeister, at at local autocross event on the subject of illegal street racing,
“These events are so inclusive, I really don’t even understand why someone would have to race on the street. I suppose it comes down to us not really getting the word out enough, or being able to get the word out enough. I mean, we all love fast cars out here, or we wouldn’t even be here. That is a given, but when there are places you can go fast safely and on closed course, why would you ever street race again? I wish everyone knew about these events we are putting on, because no one I know in this club street races. No one. Like I said, why would you?”
After seeing the fun that these local racers have, it is hard not to agree with him.
I was stunned as we were led out onto the flightpath, past rows of F-16 and other fighter jets, onto the actual Nellis AFB tarmac, where the racecourse was set up ready to go.
It was quite a spectacle, but what struck me the most was the diversity in age and background in the club.
Attending one of these events and seeing the diverse group of participants, the universal camaraderie amongst racers, and how smoothly the event ran overall was truly impressive.
There were 60 year old men giving driving tips to teenagers, and the teens were all too happy to listen and learn. In turn, they would help out with doing a tire change.
One of the youngest participants was 19 year old Jesse Montez, driving his pride and joy Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. I got his thoughts on street racing in Las Vegas,
“I have seen a few of my friends doing things I would call street racing, and it is scary man. I mean, I have seen people nearly miss fatal accidents, and I have lost a couple of friends in car accidents I think could’ve been avoided. People need to be able to release that urge to go fast, that “need for speed” everyone talks about, and this is where you can do it. Everyone needs to be out here, and I tell everyone I know to come out here. It is safe, and hell, it is a lot of fun.”
The ability to race legally provides a great outlet for lovers of horsepower to use their performance cars in a safe environment.
Everyone I spoke with (like Montez) universally agreed- if you can race safely and legally- why risk death and imprisonment with illegal street racing?
Las Vegas actually is a leading city in providing legal, sanctioned racing of all types, and is a model for other cities in this regard.
The “Midnight Mayhem” drag racing program at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is also open to the public, and costs only $10 to race for the night.
Does having all of these inclusive racing programs available in Las Vegas reduce the number of street racers, and thus make the valley’s roadways safer?
In many ways, the answer is yes.
Nevada had a total of 432 traffic fatalities in 2004, with a population close to 2.5 million. Of these, only 27 involved what police term “reckless endangerment” behind the wheel.
South Carolina, in the same year, recorded 1,286 traffic fatalities, with a population that was nearly the same, at 2.9 million. Of these, 154 involved “reckless endangerment” behind the wheel.
Metrolina Speedway, the biggest racetrack in South Carolina, is located just outside of Charleston- the biggest city in the state. When contacted about racing open to public participation, the track coordinater responded to me with this statement,
“While we are working on creating a program that allows public participation, our current insurance regulations prevent us from doing so.”
When pressed for specifics on when this might occur, the track official (who wouldn’t provide his name) was not at liberty to discuss any details.
I was curious to see if Law Enforcement in the Valley felt street racing was a problem in our area.
Las Vegas Metro Sgt. Bill Castle has been on patrol for 6 years, and was able to give some insight into how much of a problem street racing is locally,
“I have seen a lot of what I would term “aggressive driving” in our area (Las Vegas), but not much in the way of a real organized racing scene. Not, at least, like it is depicted in the movies. More of what I have seen are people performing what we would call ”exhibitions of speed” on the highway, or on local roads- most of which are pretty spontaneous. That is to say, most of the “races” I have seen are more impulsive than the organized depicitions you see in all the movies. And honestly, I haven’t really seen a whole lot of that, even.”
I was struck by how law enforcement’s experience of street racing in Las Vegas could differ so greatly to what we are presented with by Hollywood. It would seem that while street racing may be prevalent in other areas, Las Vegas is doing an excellent job at attacking this problem on many fronts.
Not only are the police aware of the issues of street racing, and have created stiffer penalties against it (see above), but local organizations exist to facilitate racer’s urge to go fast.
The combination of these two things could be instrumental in reducing the number of high speed fatalities (over 65 mph) that occur on our roadways to levels that rival a state with half our population.
When speaking to local racers and law enforcement, the main thing they agree on is that street racing is not a huge problem in our County, and the numbers do reflect this.
Whether or not this is directly related to the number of available places for legal racing is unclear, but what is clear is the relative safety of our streets, and the distinct lack of street racers in Clark County.
Perhaps everything in Las Vegas really is fast, easy, and- best of all- legal.
