(CNN) -- Gavin Simcoe hadn't planned on nearly killing himself. He was just with a couple of buddies that night of September 25. But street racing came up. There was trash talking about whose car was faster.
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The wreck of Gavin Simcoe's 1993 Honda sits outside a Washington state high school last year.
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"I said, 'I think mine can beat yours,' " Simcoe says. His friends agreed, "let's go out and do it then."

They chose a straight two-lane road. It had hills, something Simcoe needed for a running start because first gear in his 1993 Honda Civic EX didn't work.

Simcoe says he hit 110 mph really fast. But then, headlights. A car was coming out of a driveway. He swerves, rolls. He feels twigs scratch his face and envisions his parents at his funeral.

"I was thinking, not me, not me," Simcoe says. "I really thought I was going to die."

Illegal street racing has reached what one law enforcement official calls "ridiculous" levels in the United States, causing a number of deaths. Simcoe knows he's lucky to be alive.

"The fire department told me that when they see this, nine out of 10 times the kid's dead, and if they're alive then they're gonna be missing some limbs or they're gonna be a paraplegic," Simcoe says. He had a concussion, some scratches and bruises.

A few months later, the thrill of racing wasn't gone. Yeah, he'd started lecturing others on the dangers of street racing, but he also watched "The Fast and the Furious," the Hollywood hit that some experts say has brought street racing to new heights of popularity.

He wants to race again -- this time on a track. "Racing to me is like adrenalin," Simcoe says.

Authorities say more and more drivers are seeking that adrenalin high.

"The last four years it's been out of control," says Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kim Miller, public affairs officer for Troop D in Orlando.

In the 10 days ending January 1, four people in her jurisdiction died, including a teen bicyclist just riding alongside the road.

There also have been deaths in other parts of the country.

There's no database tracking street racing deaths, but a Google search hints at the scope. Police say a 21-year-old man was killed while street racing in Copiague, New York, on January 6; a Texas City, Texas, teen killed in late December racing his best friend; a 60-year-old Bakersfield, California, grandmother killed in an accident with street racers in October; a 15-year-old boy killed in an accident with street racers in Elk Grove, California, in June. Those cases are found just in the first 30 matches on a Google search of "street racing deaths."

The California Highway Patrol says it gave out 697 citations for participating in a "speed contest" in 2006. Those numbers were down from 2005, but CHP spokesman Tom Marshall says those statistics cover only highway patrol jurisdictions, not local surface streets where many races occur. Video Watch a discussion about surge in street racing

 

I say more bad stuff to come for everyone... Sucks that everyone has to pay the price.

 

That's a bunch of over blown bull shit.

how many die from street racing anually.

This is just a fund raising tactic on their part. A good reason to mess with people, and write more tickets, impounds etc.

BS.

 

yeah I agree,

 

I live my life 1 stop light at a time.

 

Maybe the uncle same should stop closing down race tracks and drag strips, perhaps making it more affordable would help the problem.

Otherwise they can just piss off. They only complain, and show no solutions.

 

 

What's really stupid is the law enforcement people's complete
lack of creativity in solving this problem. The is my country,
and I ought to be able to do whatever I like so long as I'm not endangering
anyone else. Going to the (quickly disappearing) track is not feasible for
many people. Last year, I went to Laguna Seca, which is an awesome
track. I had to pay over $300 for that privilege, and take 3 days of
vacation. How often can the average Joe do that?

So why not create local street events? If people want to drive fast,
let them drive fast!! Block off sections of road (canyons???) and
let 'em have at it. I hate how the solution to a problem like this is to
try to punish them into oblivion. What are you, my parents?!?!?!
Find a way to make it safe instead of applying money-making, gestapo-like,
freedom oppressing tactics that are doomed to failure anyway, morons!!

Will people still die? Yeah. So? People die everyday. I'd rather die doing
something I love, than die from disease or shot in a drive-by or some other
stupid thing. Will innocent people die? We all know that a lot less would die at
a managed event than a spontaneous road race. DUH.

That sounds like a young punk talking right there. It's the 5-year
old that does what his mommy tells him NOT to do. I don't give a crap about
what the boundaries are--I love speed, and I love competition.

"To protect and Serve" -- I've come up with their new jingle...
"Glorified fine collector with a gun".

 

yeah me too. haha

 

who wants to start a street racing gang?? haha