Street racing deaths --

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RedRacer
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Street racing deaths --

Post by RedRacer »

Here's an interesting and sad story.

Birmingham (the major city that I live near) has a slight crime problem. The city government is corrupt as hell, there is virtually NO police force and in the first week of 2008, by January the 4th, there had already been 5 murders in the city. Amazing. We outrank Detroit in the list of most dangerous cities in the United States.

Now, with that backstory in place......I saw this piece on the local news tonight.

There is a section of town, northwest of downtown, it's called Pratt City. Low income, urban area. Lots of thugs, drugs, crime, etc. Very industrial too.

There is a road out there called Republic Boulevard. It's long, straight and wide. Mostly used by semi-trucks for access to all the freight depots in the area.

This road is well known for street racing. Although the cops play stupid and say they don't know that much about street racing being a problem, it IS a problem. And they say they can do nothing about it unless they actually SEE the racing taking place. Well, that's bullshit. If they wanted to do something about it, they could...they just don't want to. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to find that Birmingham police offers were actually out there taking part in the street races.

So tonight, they had a race. And it's not like most of us know the "street racing" scene i.e. just a bunch of kids with tuner cars having dangerous fun. No, this scene is tied to thugs and gangs, etc. They come in from Mississippi, Tennessee, etc. to be in these races. Well, they raced, and there was a wreck. It finally happened.

One of the drivers lost control and ran over a bystander who was videotaping the race. He was hurt badly.

Someone came to help the guy who had been run over, but that was apparently the wrong move. He was shot and killed for trying to help the guy. Apparently this action must have been tied in to the gang element of these races. So the guy who got hit, died. And the guy they shot for trying to help the guy who got hit, also died.

Two people killed. One by accident and one intentionally.

AMAZING.

Anyway, just thought I'd share this piece of information with the rest of you.

I can't tell you how disappointed I am with the BPD and their inability to control lawlessness such as this. Not just their inability, but their lack of even wanting to do anything about it.

But then, I guess when you pay your rookie cops less than 27,000 dollars annually, why should they really care? Most of the people who join up with the BPD simply join up because they want to wear a uniform and carry a gun. They have no real desire in "protecting" or "serving" ..... it's just a power trip to them.

Along these same lines, I can't even tell you the last time I saw a cop on the interstates in the city. I regularly drive 90+ miles an hour on the highways around town and I have no fear of ever being pulled over. In fact, last Saturday morning, I had to be somewhere early. I was on the main interstate going through the city around 7 am. I was traveling 90ish. Most of the other cars were PASSING me. No lie.

If you're ever in this part of the US -- be smart. Stay out of Birmingham.

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spiffyguido
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Post by spiffyguido »

Such stupidity in some places....

It's so sad how little they pay law enforcement in many cities. Our police here are reasonably compensated and corruption is low, but I still think they deserve more.

Street racing is a killer to be sure. A few years back, street racing became a bit of a problem in the city where i live. Fortunately, the cops here wouldn't hear of it, and they opened up our local race track drag strip every friday night. The arrangement is very flexible. $20 to run your car all night. Free tech inspections and slips. This has been a huge success, and the event is well attended every week. A creative solution to a problem.

Your story actually reminded me of a you tube video I saw a while ago of a fellow in his Lambo doing 200 mph on a public highway in the states. There were other cars around too! He even proudly proclaims 'try to beat my speed' in the film. Stupid.

I've always wanted to road trip the south east US. Perhaps Birmingham is one place I'll execute a little caution around.

Sanova
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Post by Sanova »

Wow, that's a crazy story. pretty sad to hear.

Keep the racing on the tracks.

although i know sometimes its very easy to have "speed contest" with a fellow tuner on the highway, i'm sure everyone has done it, but smart people know when to quit.



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