Street Racing

Judi Lin is 19 year old former street racer. She used to tear up the streets of her hometown until she got torn up herself.

"I've been through six cars in the past five years," Lin admitted. "Two out of the six were (demolished) in street-racing accidents. Both of them were a total loss. The first one, I was street racing a Mustang on a rainy day and I broke my collarbone. On the second one, I was at the illegal street races and wasn't wearing my seatbelt. My forehead hit the (windshield), and my chin hit the steering wheel. They sent me to the trauma unit. It was an unhappy picture."

She has been racing at The Strip Las Vegas Motor Speedway ever since her last accident. Racing at the strip, or any racetrack, is better than racing illegal street races. There is no car accidents and no cops which makes for a better and safer atmosphere. Because of this, street racing is a dangerous activity and should remain illegal.#

Street racers say that they block off less trafficked roads in order to make racing safe. However, it still can be dangerous. Just because there is no traffic and less spectators does not mean that people cannot get injured. The racers themselves are the ones most likely to get injured whether on a street blocked off or on a street with traffic.

One argument for my thesis is that it promotes gambling, which is illegal in many states. People put all of their money into their race because they think that they have the fastest car or they think that their friends car is really fast so they will bet on him. However, they do not win every time and that causes some people to go into debt with the bookies which never is a good thing. It is hard to get out of debt with a bookie because most times they charge interest and the longer you wait to pay off your debt, the more you are going to have to pay back. It is just a vicious cycle. Gambling is just so addicting, especially when it comes to street racing.

Besides gambling being a problem among street racing this illegal activity also attracts a bad element, and races occasionally have degenerated into violence, gunplay and death. But what is even more alarming is that the newer, younger crowd and their out-of-control behavior attracts gangs, which is the main source of the violence. The talk is that gangs, which often associate themselves with certain makes of foreign cars, bet on races and renege when they lose. Street racing is a very competitive sport where you are trying to gain the bragging rights as to whose car is the fastest car out there. Sometimes that "friendly" competition can go a little to far and result in fights and even people being shot at. Gang members are even said to have followed winning cars home and stripped them of their expensive equipment. Ever since the young, wilder crowd began showing up, gang members followed and so did fights, vandalism and gunplay.

Besides promoting gambling and gang violence, street racing is a dangerous illegal activity that can be devastating to most of the racers. Most people do not realize