hey all, i just got through answering a post about the fact that we blank out our plates in the photos. the answer that i gave has been on my mind. i don't condone nor do i encourage the pratice of street racing, but i have participated in it. lots of times. my whole thing on this post is the fact that here in ny, in the past two weeks there have been two deaths of small children who have been killed by these racers. i, personally, have lost several people while they were racing. one was driver error, the rest were the fact that they decided to race, one on the highway, the rest on populated streets. look people, you don't crap where you sleep. give me a break. did you people grow up in barns. i am not here, nor is anyone else here to hold your hand. and for the folks who are against this practice, sorry, but butt out. they have parents. now if the person wants to be an ****, please be an **** somewhere else. don't take someone else with you if you have a deathwish. this isn't a video game, there is no reset. these punks that come by my place, revving their engines, smoking their tires, they are the problems. you want to head on over to english town, lets go. there is also bridgetown raceway, lets race. i go for pinks. but not on my street. i have been known, and still do, act like a moron on the street. MY street. i live on a cul-de-sac, i am the center house in that cul-de-sac. if i lose it on the street, at least i'll end up in my living room. hell, probably the mrs has my coffee on the table waiting for me. my stupidity. but i won't do it on a busy street. so this is a warning to all in my area, don't let me catch you people screwing around. and the ones who jump in the street trying to stop these idiots, you don't get any sympathy from me. when there was a proposal for a race track in staten island, it was people like you who shot it down. too much noise, traffic, etc. well people, we have traffic anyway, like it or not. if you don't like it, don't drive, take the effin bus. the money that would have come in from this venture would have gone for improvements to the boroughs through taxes. nascar, F1, and the local racing scene would have brought in jobs and security in the form of more police being on the beat to catch idiots who didn't go to the track. so, if there ever is a proposal in anybodies cities on building a track, vote yes. we don't need new condo units, or a new mansion, the real estate is expensive enough. am i a hypocrite, i don't think so. i am probably the only sane one in my area. just be safe when driving. peace.

I'm with ya there, although we don't really suffer much from the kind of situation you seem to have. Being in the south (barely but we're still plenty southern), we have race tracks all over the place, and even good ole demolition derbies.

Around my parts, the only road problems tend to be kids hooked on the "Fast and Furious" mentality (a movie that never should have been made, in my opinion..haha). We have tons of the little Hondass, Toyotas, etc that these kids think that just because they put a new front spoiler, window tint, $2000 alloy wheels, super low profile tires, and the crappy exhaust that makes their car sound like a weed eater; all of sudden makes them race car drivers with super cars. Sadly they never put a dime in the engine, suspensions, etc and so they just have a stock car with a new look and the sound of power yard equipment. Still, they like to try to race around and attempt to show off, but to me just look like idiots on the road causing a nuisance. :P

I agree with you guys on this one.

Thanks to a local Government ad in the past that still lingers on in my mind, I still get that 'whispering-thought' of WHAT IFs, every time i approach a crowded area in my car. The Honda or the Volvo.

What if:
1) A kid comes out running from the crowd towards me? Can i stop on time? At 30km/h, yes i think so.
2) The kid slams into my car. Whose fault is it going to be? I mean, the kid ran across the road and slams into my CAR. The people and the Government will say, its the DRIVER's fault. Not the kid. You're supposed to be matured enough to do something about it.

Shucks.

I get goose-bumps, everyTIME i approach a primary school. And that's like at least 4 times a day.
*gulp*

Safety first!
:)

I know that feeling, as I hit a girl on a bicycle once (college student), while pulling out from a stop light (turning right). It was during the time of day where the sun was blaring straight down the road and almost blinding. Luckily I wasnt moving but about 5 mph, but it sent her over her handlebars and landing right on her head.

I would expect in some cases it would have been my fault (the driver's), but luckily a police officer was on the other side of the intersection and saw the whole thing. She didnt stop or pause before crossing the intersection, and she was riding on the wrong side of the road, so it was written up as her fault.

She was ok, but had a big knot on her head from it. I did ger her phone number though...haha. A word of advice, that isnt exactly the best method to use to pick up women :P

too right greek, a valid rant there. you have a big car yes wow, your just showing how irresponsible you are by doing such silly things. and yes i can also admit and put my hands up to doing awful things on the road too such as over double the motorway speed limit (uk 70), which at the time was fun, looking back onto it, f'in stupid, not only was i putting my life at risk, but my girlfriend who i adore who was in the car also, and everyone else on the road.

Speed really does kill. It kills more and harder especially when people dont know how to handle it - especialy new drivers who get they're first car, be it 1, 1.2 up to 1.6 1.8 litres, and hese little engines may not have that much power, but they can go bloody fast for what they are, and because they are small, they are unstable, and the drivers dont know what they're own limits are nor the cars.

I now know what MY limits are and what BOTH my cars limits are, the english roads very rarely let you drive on those limits. I am lucky to have a dis-used airport by me, the amount of crashes that the youngsters have up there is silly, no one gets hurt luckily because is dis-used, only they're wallets are hurt. But they try emphasis TRY to 'keep up' with the bigger cars and more epxerienced drivers which doesnt happen. we all know not to go there when it rains, more slippery than an ice rink. noiw some of the younger ones up there, having wasted a lot of money are now coming to us and asking if we can show them how to do these things. we shouldnt, but we say to them do not do it on the roads, they will either die, murder someone or be arrested and loose car+license.

I think if there were places, such as this airport, that were fenced off, policed against illegal drivers etc.. and had sufficient emergnecy services on hand, for young drivers to go and sit, burn outs, j turns etc... maybe even a 1/4mile drag, for say like £20, it would reduce A LOT of the silly driving on the road.

now because of these kids around me, i go out in my 940, stripped to the bone, big exhaust, loud dump valve, racing seats etc... as soon as i stop at traffic lights either:

1) i get pulled instantly, andm y car is searched and inspected with a fine toothed comb OR
2) i get a pre-pubescent teen who doesnt have a license, cant drive and a rubbish vauxhal corsa/nova or saxo wanting a race, not really thinking that my car will spank all over him without even putting my foot on the accelerator.

rant rant rant, drive safely people, respect eachother on the road, have manners, let people out infront of you when merging in a traffic jam, it helps it flow more at junctions, dont rush off at a red light to get ahead of a slower car, set an example to the younger drivers of the generation!!!

i'm 21, 3 points for speeding, done some stupid things - really stupid things. i reserve that for race tracks and closed roads now. also watch out for motorbikes, they hide in the most unlikely of places, eg my exhaust, they will screw you if you cut them up. (i have ridden a bike before - its the scariest thing to see people not paying attention in cars weighing 2 tons doing 60mph pulling out infront of you)

Matt

syko, damn straight about getting pulled. last time i was in the uk, i had tickets to go and see carl fogarty run superbike. landed in heathrow, borrowed my cousins bike and rode the M1 (i think, or the A1) anyway, was doing maybe 80 and the cars around me are flying. i mean like superfast, never mind about the other bikers. anyway, i accelerate to about 100, just keeping up, and get pulled by a cop. he walks up to me, as other cars are flying past us, and asks me why i'm speeding. so, me being mr patient, proceed to berate him and his whole family for not paying attention to the other vehicles flying past us. suffice it to say, i never did get to see fogarty race nor did i see the sun rise for the next two days while they figured out what to do with me as i was in the holding cell in this little town where i got pulled. after i called my aunt and uncle and some guys from the lodge in london, they all came there to get me out. the chief of police said he would let me go if i apologized to the arresting officer because i said some "not nice things about his family". so i apologized about his family but added that his parents must have adopted him because there was no way they would have let something so stupid live. another day in the brink and a 500 pound fine for "verbally assaulting a police officer". and they searched my bags, fully, at the airport when i was leaving, since i had gone to england for a week and spent a total of two days outside. so i get the whole police crap. you guys are really strict in some instances but so lax on others. hell, here they are blind until you crash into them :grin:

Bwahahahahahaaha!!!! :lol:

I may be stereotyping here, but what is it with Greeks having to get in a parting shot, aimed extra low?

(just ask the Bride, she's a verbal marksman)

or is that a markswoman?

ugh.

someone shut me up.

M1 and A1 are basically the same, you got the M1 which then ends, then the A1(M) which is a dual carraigeway, but the M1 motorway rules still apply, then A1. they are all crap. worst place for speeding, especially atm because of all the road widening. average speed camera's, which really DO work, i havenht been caught but my friend was caught doing an average of 56mph through one section and got £60 fine and 3 points. he was 1mph over the 10% allowance for incorrect/out of calibration speedo. this was at about 1 in the morning, how unfair is that!

Do you have any places where u are greek which u could 'buy' and put a big old concrete wall around with shed load of tyres and charge extortionately large fee's for the boy racers to come in and race you?

ps: oh and slap me now ... i said a car didnt need a turbo the other day and i dreamt about it last night, mind it was a 240 with twin webers on it :grin: and a phat off exhaust with tyres that met in the middle at the back .....

Hey Bear, Greek, I was doing some building works in a primary school [ 5-11 y/olds ] drove slowly out the yard and into the main street a block away and at about 20 km/h a little girl runs over a busy road and into and over the hood of my car.....I SCREAMED or it was us both but i was shaking for hours...and lucky a woman saw it all and looked after me ...the mother was more worried what her husband would say,didnt even hold the crying girl,it was up to me and the witness to hold and comfort the little one,later i had a message on my cell phone.....The mother made her call me to apologise for what she did ....i sent the little one a card and present,my friend took it to the house and the [ B#*CH } Mother shouted at my lady friend.. Oh it still makes me angry and i can still see that little girl bouncing off my car....still brings a tear to my eye....[she was only bruised] I even hugged the father when he drove up at great speed and was admonished by the senior cop not to park dangerously at the scene...........What do you do ?

unreal les, unreal. and to syko, i've thought about it, but with the prices of real estate in ny, i would have to buy a big piece of land in canada. and the canadians already know my rep, darn, and i'm not allowed in. something about crown royal and a party with midgets and bimbos. :grin: and doog, get used to it. and wear a titanium cup. i was born here the mrs is from overseas and she gets brutal.

HAHAHAH!
D@mn, bro!
That's a GOOD one for the books!
History, man...!




If THAT were to happen to me, PARTICULARLY in an area close to a school or something like that, i know for sure:-
1) Either i will get mauled by the passers-by, and ended up with a broken something-something and bleeding allover, HAHA, (well, everyone i spoke to, remembers the Government ad, still, you know, cos the FX was so cool, it was like watching an equivalent horror slash-slash-and-slash movie... HEHE) [case of strength in numbers and noone person is guilty?] or,
2) I will just surrender myself to the police, explaining to them my part of the story. (Before some guy comes up, claiming to have witnessed me 'purposedly trying to run down the kid or something)... At least i have a fair chance this way.

In fact, just to share, a similar thing had happen before, in 2004:
It was fasting month for us Muslims, and it was on a Friday. I took a short-cut to the nearest mosque for our weekly prayers, together with a 'boss' in a Malaysian car (make is of Japanese design). The short-cut is a little deserted, with high trees that made the ambience, as its just beside a King's palace where speed limit is strictly 30kmh. Enforced by surveillance cameras at some spots.

We were having this relaxed conversation on theories, about work, and suddenly, at a corner, this bike sprang out from the opposite direction, in a sweeping corner style, eating MY side of the road! I noticed that he was trying to bring the bike upright and slam the brakes, but instead, the bike fell to the tarmac and screetched HORIZONTALLY, STRAIGHT at our faces! With the biker still on it!!!

I could still hear my boss calling out my name, and my "YA!" answer... I braked on time. The CSI works after that on my car at the police 'lab' showed i did my part. The rest i am saving for my kids later, but suffice to say, the loud bang was heard by the residents in the neighbourhood. Not the King though, he wasnt in.

But almost immediately, and out of nowhere, traffic police swarmed us like crazy, and that was when i asked, where were you guys when he was taking all those laps? The answer i got was that, that particular corner was NOT yet fitted with cameras for surveillance. Pfah. Just my luck.

The biker ended up with a broken hip - and strangely, he still thinks i am at fault. At least, that's what he told the policeman. My boss and I also went to report the incident formally at the police station, and my long-frustrating experience began. I'll stop there.

Lucky for me, the mark (a scoop the size of my fist) left by the bike when it slid towards my car, was clearly shown to be on MY side of the road. Plus, the biker didnt tie his helmet at all, causing the helmet to fly to the back of my car (straight-line trajectory). All these somehow, didnt help me much, in convincing the policeman. Funny, funny.

My car, ended up with a totally wrecked bumper, burst radiator, and flung over driver side tyre. Both the front alloy rims cracked beyond mending, and saw me using stock metal rims up to the point until i fixed everything up and sold the car. The chassis however, miraculously was not bent, though the engine was pushed up a bit, causing a big bend over the hood. Both headlights gone, and the signal lights too. My Hella spot lights were nowhere to be found, to this day.

Oh, by the way, my boss and I were FINE. No bruises. Just the shivers, similar to what Les experienced. Till this VERY day, everytime i use that shortcut, i get the same goosebumps.

Kids and bikes. That's a nuisance of a problem here. Irresponsible biking.

And oh Syko, if you follow the Formula 1 Championship, you'll see that Malaysia has this super-sized race track in Sepang that is OPEN for people to come and race, responsibly. But you can only bring a horse to the water, you cant force the damn creature to drink his stomach explodes. HEHEHE...
It's the streets that they are racing to die on, not at places with proper help when something goes wrong. Maybe the thrill of dying like a run-over frog (there's this saying in Malay, that dying like a frog getting run over by big tyres, is the worst kind of death) is something i will never understand.

Cheers, people.

I know you guys know i drive fast. But i do that at the highways. Yes, there are hazards there as well, but at least MOST people know that you dont leave your kid running around beside the highway at any time of the day, right?
:right:

yeah they should all die, not bikers boy racers ... maybe that was harsh, maybe they should grow a brain and actually do it where they know ift hey crash they wont be that far away from a hospital, and it doesnt mean using the 1/2 mile straight piece of road right outside our main accident and emergency unit for drag racing a mustang ahem...

ps greek: if you ever come to the uk, you can stay in my bathroom :)

pps: minus the midgets

I think what it boils down to is maturity and training. Young people think they are invincible. Couple that with a lack of driver training, and this is what we have. I think they should bring back those old driver training videos they showed in the old days (no offense!). You know, the one that show what happens to the human body in an accident.

Not that it would stop street racing, but if it makes a few people stop and think.