and this from a site moderator?.....................we all need to continually reenforce how stupid any form of street racing is.............

greybeard

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by djohnston
[B]STRONG disagreement from me on this.

 

I think some of you guys are lopping any street encounter (and bear in mind the word street doesn't always mean a residential area) into the same category. First off, I'm 41 years old and don't street race but I noticed not one of you who dissented with my opinion failed to respond to my question...would you have bought the S2000 had its top speed been limited to 79mph? How many of you guys preaching to the others have NEVER gone 80mph in your car? Accidents happen...NO neither should have been racing in that section of town, this goes without saying ( or ANY section where other folks are close enough to be involved if something unfortunate happens). I'm not condoning street racing but it DOES exist. Its form can take on situations that range from courting death to runs which are hardly anymore dangerous than drag racing on a track without barriers. Men have been lining up their rides since two Model T's found themselves idling behind a scoop of horse manure. Like most forms of racing, it's usually the driver and not the race itself which causes most accidents. For those of you who think everyone who posts in the street encounters forum is a irresponsible 20-something endangering the lives of others, don't be so quick to file away each encounter as such. I visit the forum often but it doesn't mean every thread is recanting a race thru a village street during school hours.
And you guys who after every street race fatality constantly write, "take it to a road course," etc. You simply don't get it. It's not about time trials, dodging orange cones in roped off Winn Dixie parking lots, lapping your neighbor's AMC Gremlin with a magnetic # on the door. How many folks have died since James Dean? Street racing is as much a part of the automobile venacular now as it was when our fathers (some) were running Buicks with flames on the side. Doing so doesn't make it right and definitely not safe, but it simply is.
As valid as most of your impassioned opinions are, if they were TRULY in the majority, we wouldn't own 4-cylinder engines capable of 155mph that can do 0-60 in just over 5 seconds. Most automobile manufacturers are building these cars with the assumption that performance on the street is what moves the car off the showroom floor...not what it could do on a track or road course that truthfully speaking, only 20% of owners involve themselves in. Is it right? Hell no, but it's reality.
Call me a thread-killing " party pooper" but don't call me a street racer. I can separate truth from opinion. Those guys were horribly wrong in their actions but why do these opinions only manifest themselves when people are injured? Think about that the next time any of you VTEC in 4th gear...chances are you're not doing 35mph eh? The fact that you're not "street racing" anyone doesn't matter. What's the speed limit?
I suppose I'll be in the minority with this opinion but I'm not going to court hypocrisy but posting, "take it to the track" a week after I'm vtec'ing in five gears on a public road just to hear my "super weight-saving, $1500 full titanium exhaust system while rolling on my $3000 12.7-lb, 17-inch wheels which decrease my lbs/hp ratio."
I don't think anyone is turbocharging their S2K so they can pull into a Burger King drive-thru quicker than a stock S2000 and last time I checked, I don't recall anyone asking Honda to build a LESS powerful S2000.

 

RIP and God Bless.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Doctor T
[B]

NO!!!

 

Oh yeah. One more thing. For those of you calling this an "accident", where are you getting THAT from? This is not an accident. An accident is when, in the normal course of things, something goes wrong. Driving in the manner that these two were is irresponsible and just asking for something like this to happen. My heart goes out to the families of the people involved in this incident, but let's least be clear - This wasn't an accident; it was the forseeable end result of some poor decision making by a couple of people who also endangered the innocent lives of anyone who was in the area at the time.

 

Really tragic... This really has made me sit down and think about my very own actions regarding street racing. I once thought it was OK to street race if the conditions were acceptable, but now I believe differently. No one can control what may happen. During a race your senses may not be as acute as driving under normal circumstances since your one and only goal is to beat the other guy at whatever cost.

 

I gotta go with RUSS on this one. Street racing is certainly a risk no matter where and what time, but we all bought this car because it was fast and fun to drive...I guess sometimes it just gets the best of us. Also, like several people have pointed out, seatbelts would have probably made this story just about a bad wreck and no deaths. Notice the guy in the yellow S sustained no injuries. At any rate, my thoughts go out to the families.

Nix

 

No Judgements from me, Just sorrow for the friends and families.

 

the driver who died was only 20 years old. We are still trying to find out a name and if he was a member of our Del-Val club.