If you’re a fan of the Fast and the Furious movies, you have probably seen plenty of scenes involving street racing, also called “drag racing.” In Texas, street racing is against the law for obvious reasons – it’s extremely dangerous! In fact, Paul Walker, the star of the Fast and the Furious died after crashing at more than 100 mph in Los Angeles, California, and he wasn’t even on set or filming at the time of the crash.
Referring to Paul Walker’s death, which occurred when he was riding passenger: “For an unknown reason the driver lost control of the vehicle and the vehicle partially spun around and began to travel in a south-easterly direction,” according to Kristy McCracken, who was the investigator for the Los Angeles coroner.
“The vehicle then struck a sidewalk and the driver’s side struck a tree and then a light post. The force of these collisions caused the vehicle to spin 180 degrees and it continued to travel in an easterly direction,” the report stated. “The passenger side of the vehicle then struck a tree and it then burst into flames.”
Street Races Are Usually on Public Roads
Street races (drag racing) are illegal because, like actor Paul Walker, they can lead to serious injuries and death of the drivers, their passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians. One of the key reasons why illegal street races are so dangerous is because they’re usually held on public roads.
Because the drivers are racing at high speeds, they are not able to react to common driving situations and road hazards like light posts, trees, road construction, broken-down vehicles, jaywalkers, etc. Not only that, but street racing can cause a lot of property damage to commercial and residential buildings, walls, fences, parked vehicles, and so on.
“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2012 there were 10,219 speeding-related fatalities nationwide, representing 30% of all motor vehicle fatalities in that year. Of these fatalities, 1,247 (12.2%) occurred in Texas. In 2012, 12% of all speeding-related fatalities occurred on interstate highways, reported the Texas Department of Public Safety in the Driver Handbook.
Injured by a driver who was racing, whether the race was informally organized or a random race between two vehicles? Contact our firm to file a personal injury claim!
