One strange phenomenon is the fad ! A course of action suddenly appeals to a wide range of people - and suddenly a fad is formed. From that point onward the only way to be " cool " is to be a follower of that fad !
Racing cars on public streets has achieved that status in the past year. Young men - and now some young women - pit their cars against their rivals without the slightest concern for their own safety - and even less for the safety of the general public.
This achieves the accolade of their peers - who consider it a " sport " and bestow hero status on the winners.
The public has expressed concern at the mounting death toll of participants and citizens mown down by these juggernauts. It seemed like the answer when the government announced that hoons street racing would have their cars confiscated - and crushed !
Now it seems that this was just another of those political statements designed to look good and appease the voters - and would bear absolutely no relation to reality.
It is now revealed that last year two hundred and ninety cars were confiscated for dangerous behavior - and almost all were handed back to their owners after a short spell in the pound.
The government now admits than under present legislation - only ten cars - at the most - will suffer destruction in the crusher. To become eligible for that fate these cars will have to be detected committing a second offence.
As usual, the devil is in the detail. It seems that the onus is on the car - not the driver. After the first offence a driver can simply change cars and once again become a first offence statistic.
If the government is serious about stopping street racing in it's tracks it needs to enact tough legislation - and have the will to carry it through. When a hoon's pride and joy is certain to meet it's fate in the crusher there will be the incentive to abandon racing on public streets and redirect it to public raceways where competition is welcome - and legal !
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