It's a world that has become popular since the movie, The Fast and The Furious, which takes a look at the world of illegal street racing. While looking at dangerous subculture in the city in the early hours of the morning, it has also left law enforcement looking for solutions, including the building of a legal quarter-mile strip which many racers say will help to reduce illegal street racing.
There are tracks where individuals can legally race, but many racers say racing on a track versus a strip serves a completely different purpose. "There is different excitement at the track. It's all in the system. On the street, you just have to make it through the night, but on the track you just have to be there for the best time,"" says Andrew, 23, a former avid street racer.
Although several racers agree that tracks aren't the answer, many say a legal strip in the city would help control illegal racing. A legal strip would help, but it may only help reduce certain types of illegal street racing. There are different types of illegal street races - organized street races, impromptu races, and poker races. In-organized races, cars line up and race on an industrial roadway or in the early hours of the morning. Impromptu races occur when two cars pull up at a traffic light and race once the light turns green. Theses (the impromptu races) ones are probably responsible for most of the street racing deaths. And last, Poker races they take place when a group of racers leave a destination and weave in and out of traffic to get to a final destination.
Making a legal strip is not the only problem that the police face. One of the other big problems is death. In 2001, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that police listed street racing as a factor in 135 fatal crashes. The total was up from 72 street-racing-related fatalities reported in 2000. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, more than 800 citations for illegal street racing were issued in 2001.
