Putting the brakes on illegal street racing - Channel 6 News Report

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By Dann Cuellar

PHILADELPHIA - May 26, 2010 (WPVI) -- Car racing has been around for almost as long as there have been cars and it's not a bad thing.

It's an exciting sport, but the streets are no place for racing and police have tried all sorts of ways to stop it, but nothing has been as effective as what they're doing now in partnership with state police.

Thanks to the advent of YouTube, videos of illegal street racing in Philadelphia can be found all over the internet and they can be pretty elaborate.

Complete with flaggers and time keepers, some street races seen on YouTube were staged recently on the streets of Southwest Philadelphia, organized on social web sites and impressively memorialized for all to see by videographers like one man who Action News met with, who did not want to be identified.

"The adrenaline rush people get is just going fast. Going fast, you know, fast & furious," the videographer said.

Indeed, no movie has done more to boost the popularity of street racing than the 2001 movie, 'The Fast & the Furious.'

"Everybody wants to be a part of it, everybody wants to drive a fast car," the videographer said.

But police say illegal street racing can and has taken its toll on innocent people as well as street racers and spectators.

"That's a problem for us...over the years, it's a constant problem," Captain Kevin Hodges of the Philadelphia Police said.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, an average of 135 people die each year in the U.S. in street racing accidents. But police believe that number to be on the low side.

Police have tried placing so-called rumble strips on the roadways to discourage street racing, but, according to the videographer, "It doesn't do anything, it actually gives a better spot to warm up your tires."

But recently, police have been teaming up with state police employing a new and, apparently, effective tactic. With aerial surveillance provided by a police helicopter in the sky, police swoop down on street racers and their spectators blocking off all exits and corralling them with no escape.

"We can stop between 100 to 150 cars when we do one of these drag racing sweeps. and when we stop these vehicles, we're looking for everything, your driver license, properly insured, properly registered," Hodges said.

Racers can get tickets ranging from $100 to $300, and spectators have also been ticketed at $90 a pop. The price tag apparently is having an impact.

"Back a couple years ago, we used to have a good 150 cars-to 200 cars show up, [and now,] we'll probably have around 50 to 60 cars," the videographer said.

Police recognize that many youth, particularly males, seem to have an inherent need for speed and they encourage them to go to legal drag strips like the Atco Speedway where it's safe and supervised.

As we head into the summer, police are also gearing up to round up illegal street racers and their spectators.

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