Why Street Racing Is So Dangerous?

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian streets have been dominated with screaming muscle cars and throbbing motorbikes riding at shattering speeds, breaking several laws, and risking their lives. In addition to filling the night with sounds of unbearable defiance, street racers also put everyone around them in danger. This was evident when a 39-year old woman was killed and 2 men injured in a street racing accident on Toronto’s Don Valley Parkway.
According to reports from the local authorities, they are taking legal action of imposing heavy penalties to those found guilty of street racing. Here, we will discuss at the 6 main reasons as to why street racing is so dangerous:

1. Ignoring Red Lights
   While driving at extreme driving speeds, there are high chances that you are going to miss or ignore that stop red traffic light. As a result, you now become a danger to the road, as your vehicle can lead to potential mass destruction and fatalities. Moreover, if you miss that red light, there is a high probability that you may end up hurting yourself and other road users.

2. Imprisonment
   If you are caught street racing, there are some instances where you are simply given a warning, a ticket that ranges between $355 and $1000 or be potentially sent to prison depending on the frequency of your arrest.

3. Car Body Damage
   Another risk associated with street racing is car body damage, especially in the pothole season. Potholes can pose a serious damage to your car if driven on at high speeds. Plus, drivers tend to lose control of the car when driven at increasing speeds over potholes, which only adds the potential risks of life-threatening injuries or death.

4. Expenditures
   There are other additional expenses involved in street racing apart from spending on air intakes, nitrous oxide, and subwoofers such as paying tickets and cost of repairing your crashed car. There is also the burden of insurance, where having numerous tickets on your driver license can reduce the possibility of receiving compensation after getting involved in a major car crash.

5. Road Degradation
   In addition to increasing the number of potholes, street racing also causes wear and tear on major highways and roads. Moreover, street racing causes road degradation during car accidents as the vehicle parts hit the road at great impacts.

6. Vandalism
   Though not a common danger of street racing, the occurrence of vandalism is highly possible due to the large groups of hooligans on roads. Since large crowds of people tend to gather in hopeful anticipation of seeing something interesting, the chances of littering and vandalism tend to increase.

7. Serious Physical Injuries
   Street racing can also lead to a number of life-threatening injuries and became a heavy financial burden to you and your family. Below are some of the common physical injuries associated with reckless driving:
   
   • Broken bones
   
   • Organ damage
   
   • Internal bleeding
   
   • Traumatic brain injury
   
   • Spinal cord injury
   
   • Lacerations
   
   • Burns

8. Death
   Death is among the worst and devastating dangers of street racing. This is because speeding increases your vehicle’s braking distance, which leaves you with minimal room to stop your vehicle immediately. For example, if you are driving at 55 miles per hour, your car has a maximum of 6 seconds before its stops moving, and in that time you would have travelled around 302 feet.

Conclusion

Illegal street racing statistics have shown that half all deaths are accounted to young adults aged between 15 and 23 years participating in street car racing. Though the rush of driving your vehicle at staggering speeds seems amusing, there are some fatal consequences involved such as serious physical injuries, risking your life and that of other road users.