Editorial
Street racing: deadly game for all who play
June 9, 2001: Logan Fujimoto, 18, is killed when he loses control of his Acura Integra on the H1 freeway near Kahala Mall. Witnesses said he was racing with another car.
March 25, 1999: Allan Magnaye, 17, is killed and eight others are injured when two Acura Integras were racing on Moanalua Road.
May 18, 1996: Katharine Carvalho, 16, and John Dorsey, 18, are killed in a head-on crash on Hawai'i Kai Drive involving their Acura and another car. They were passengers in a car witnesses said appeared to be racing. Their friends disputed that account.
Feb. 24, 1996: Cynthus Rose Star, 45, Brandon Tavares, 22, Carylgene Eckman-Rowe, 16, and Ronald Perreira, 18, are killed in a head-on crash near Papaikou on the Big Island that occurred when Star swerved to avoid a pack of racing cars.
Nov. 10, 1995: Kiet Tran, 20, Cindy Phan, 18, Kinh Nguyen, 21, Thanh Nguyen, 20, Thanh Thai Phan 20, all are killed when their speeding white Cutlass flipped on Kalanianaole Highway. Witnesses said they were racing with another car. Cindy Phan was four months pregnant.
That sad litany of names illustrates how deadly street racing is. How many more names will be added?
The illegal pastime is a thriving subculture, and deaths over the years have done nothing to change that — street racing has been around since the days of "Rebel Without a Cause." Now a new movie, "The Fast and the Furious," is glorifying the street racing lifestyle and fueling fears it will encourage young drivers to cross the line between fact and fantasy.
Meanwhile Honolulu police began a program June 14 to tag speed offenders. In East Honolulu alone, police say they have been citing 40 percent to 50 percent more speeders since the program began. Honolulu police gave commanders in each of the eight districts on O'ahu an additional 1,000 hours of overtime to combat speeding — not just the road racers, but everyone else who zips along, ignoring speed limits and forgetting their safe-driving skills.
Street racing is a rush, a thrill, an ego-boosting ride. Its consequences are death, shattered lives and broken dreams.
Police, doing what they can to curtail speeding, cannot be everywhere to watch for violators. This is not just a problem for police, but for the community.
There are racing alternatives. Legal drag racing will not get all the street racers off the road, but it does provide an outlet. Parents and community groups need to find ways to encourage the legal sport.
And this must become a priority before more names are added to the deadly list. Hollywood would have us believe that no one would try something they see in a movie. Police, who have all too often come across the carnage caused by racing, know better. Parents need to be sure their children know where fact and fantasy begin and end and what the rights and privileges of driving mean.
And, in the end, all of us must shoulder the responsibility of making safety our greatest concern when getting behind the wheel. The single driver ignoring speed laws can be as dangerous as street racers.
Before we wring our hands over street rebels, let's first check our own bad driving habits at the car door and act responsibly behind the wheel.
