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Illegal street racing is not as bad as you think!
Take a look at these statistics before you go shaking your stick at street racing and sports car enthusiasts! I don't support street racing but upon discovering actual statistics and comparing them against other forms of preventable death, illegal street racing is really not that bad! There is a lot of stones being thrown at illegal street racers and automotive enthusiasts these days by the media but the logic behind it is nonsense and without solid foundation (See expose report here). Have they considered the other causes of preventable death statistics? Probably not! (Preventable death statistics are a number that can be reduced if effort is put forth to prevent it from happening.) Let me be the first to state that illegal street racing is a very minor problem in America when considering other causes of preventable death we currently face.
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- Average yearly fatal accident death rate in US: 37,000
- Police pursuit accidents have an average of 300 to 400 deaths per year.
- Average yearly fatal street racing related deaths in US: 135
- Percentage of police chase deaths out of total crash related deaths in USA: .8% - 1%
- Percentage of street racing deaths out of total crash related deaths in USA: .3%
Note about statistics: According to some sources, these statistics are only a fraction of the real death rate. It is hard to actually determine whether or not a death was caused by illegal street racing causing some people to believe the numbers are higher than stated.
Sources: http://www.evostreetracers.com/tragedytower.html , http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx , http://www.car-accidents.com/police-car-accidents-crash.html
Video content: Illegal street racing PSA
Tip: Know the facts of preventable death rates!
Only point three percent of vehicle related deaths in USA are a direct result of illegal street racing. Illegal street racing is really not that bad considering the other preventable death rates:
- 631,000 people die each year from heart disease.
- 15,000,000 children die each year from hunger.
- Two thousand kids each year drown in pools because parents don't pay attention.
- 1,500 people each day die from tobacco, why is it still legal?
- Fast food kills more people than fast cars, that's a fact. Big Mac illegal? Nope.
Regardless of statistics, keep it on the track. In towns like Tampa, access to drag strips and autocross tracks has reduced the amount of illegal street racing. (Read more here) Just because only .3% of all fatal wrecks are caused by illegal street racing doesn't mean it is safe to go out and illegally street race worry free. It is the goal of this article to inform about the facts behind illegal street racing and not to promote it. Keep it on the track, please. At least then you'll know who won with out any possibility of argument. The clock never lies!
Street racer stereotyping
A problem arises out of these statistics that causes stereotypes to be cast. These groups can sometimes assimilate to certain viewers that all sports car and performance enthusiasts participate in illegal street racing. This is not true, and it creates a bad stigma for us car folks; particularly import performance. Thanks to the recent movie series "Fast and Furious" it is typical to believe that import performance cars participate in illegal street racing. 
This creates a negative character stereotype for these individuals. Sports cars and other high performance vehicles are considered "rare" and the minority of vehicles on the road and yet are still subject to extreme stereotyping. The stereotype of high performance vehicles being directly linked with illegal street racing has no foundation because it is such a small ratio of accusation.
Summary
In conclusion, illegal street racing is a VERY minor problem when compared to other forms of "preventable death" according to available statistics. According to some sources, these statistics are only a fraction of the real death rate. It is hard to actually determine whether or not a death was caused by illegal street racing causing some people to believe the numbers are higher than stated. Illegal street racing is still a problem, but it is very small in statistical size. According to death rate statistics above, we are at higher risk of dieing from one Big Mac than a herd of street racers. Stereotyping of sports car enthusiasts and import performance vehicles needs to stop because it represents such a small fraction of a miniature problem. Statistically speaking, there is an increased threat that a completely stock average vehicle (majority of vehicles on the road) will be subject to street racing more than a modified high performance sports car which represents the minority of vehicles on the road. Media and people abroad need to stop accusing all high performance vehicles as suspects of street racing because logically it is very inaccurate.
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Comments
Great job! Even though the statistics are somewhat foggy, it's nice to know street racing isn't as big of a threat as some people make it out to be.
"According to some sources, these statistics are only a fraction of the real death rate. It is hard to actually determine whether or not a death was caused by illegal street racing causing some people to believe the numbers are higher than stated." -My question: What is the margin of error? It's still not enough to out weight tobacco and the big macs. Agendas.
is it street racing or idiots driving fast? LOL
great article I love your work
Well now that street racing is a professional sport, maybe it will cut down on the negative stereotype. Check out www.NALSR.com they are doing positive things for street racers. Michael should do a story on them.
Real street racing is done where no one is around for big/small amounts of money. True street racers set the bar, but with every style that comes along there will be the followers who dont carry the correct tradition and ruin everything. In my area, it's the addition of morons plus gangs who start problems and shootings. The "real" street racing is fun and intense considering the cash winnings. Always thought this underground sport would be ruined quickly so I skipped it and moved onto drifting. Anyone can buy a sport compact turbo and boost it, but not everyone can slide. Teaches you control and discipline to push it to the next level. YOUDRIFT.net
Wow I had no idea the stats were that low. I was worried it was way higher, now I can actually leave my house with out worrying about idiot street racers killing me. I didn't know it was that low, the way most people lead you to believe- it sounds like the leading cause of death in america. agendas lol.
67% of all statistics are made up.
That picture of the car above is such a ricer!
that bad
You know... That's all nice to know. But you fail to understand that police chases are inevitable. If people weren't breaking the law in the first place then the police would have no reason to chase.
#2 : a Street Racer makes a conscious decision to put my families life on the line. If they hit me while they are acting a fool... My children could die or worse become brain damaged or put into a coma.
THE NHRA has tracks open. Hell there are street racing tracks everywhere. But is it that it's not quite enough rush? Do they absolutely have to put innocent lives at risk? Innocent deaths caused by illegal street racing should be held as murder.
Maybe not anything like pre-meditated. Because I'm sure they don't plan on crashing. But every time they put their foot down on the gas they make the decision to take that risk. I guess of your 2 year old nephew had died because of a street racer. You'd think differently...
eat a dick
How can you possibly say that street racing is a MINOR problem? People have DIED because of the irresponsible, selfish bastards who choose to use OUR public streets for their entertainment. Yes, maybe it does not kill as many people as cancer, or heart heart attacks, but innocent lives are taken still. A friend I have known since the day she was born was killed October 2009 due to two idiots racing. She was caught in the middle of the chaos, one of the drivers lost control and she was the one who was killed. And the drivers? They still see their families, they breathe, they eat, they see the light of day. But Aly, never again. You lose someone close to your heart and then tell me if street racing is "not a problem."
i was a street racer from 1996-1999 and in that time i made thousands of dollars but on top of all that i also know for a fact that in my home city of harrisburg pa there are at least 4 different locations that even today draw the race pack out and unlike what some moron may think they still do not race on main highways unless it is blocked off already. in all my years of raceing i have never seen a accident from raceing however i have seen accidents from stupid teens who think they are back yard mechanics and hook up things that should not be messed with. i have seen engins blow apart and cars burst into flames all because someone did not have a certified mechanic work on there car. street racers are not the problem only stupid teenagers that do not know what they are doing they are the problem.
This article is not only irresponsible, but dangerous. In my line of work (accident reconstruction) I've seen the deaths of hundreds of young people due to reckless driving. Illegal Street racing is not safe, period. Not only are you putting yourself in danger, but everyone else on the road. Regardless if you have plenty of experience street racing or if it's you first time, you still have the same chance of threatening the safety of yourself and others.
http://www.gekandassociates.com
rdgh
its not the real street racers that are the ones causing all of the accidents in the first place. there is a responsible way to street race and an irresponsible way to street race, if you and someone else know how to drive, are on a non-populated straight road, and race a quarter of a mile like normal nothing should go wrong. it is the dumb asses that do doughnuts, swerve and weave and race on curvy populated roads that ruin it for us who are actually thinking about how to be as accident free as possible while we street race.
The data is very skewed.
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