Saw this article in the star 2 days ago, the line that catches my attention is,
“If you are a parent and your garage has three sets of tires and a car with enough gauges to fly to the moon, you are at risk and putting your children at risk,”
Parents urged to put brakes on street racing
TheStar.com - News - Parents urged to put brakes on street racingSafety experts stage fiery explosion to hit home on the danger of nitrous oxide use to enhance the speed of souped-up cars
May 14, 2007
Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter
Emergency workers and safety officials are taking the war on street racing to the home front.
Too many parents are either unaware or turning a blind eye to the souped-up cars in their driveways that have the potential to be killing machines on the road, police and fire authorities said at a news conference Friday. “If you are a parent and your garage has three sets of tires and a car with enough gauges to fly to the moon, you are at risk and putting your children at risk,” warned Brian Patterson, president of the Ontario Safety League.
He joined a demonstration at the Toronto Fire Academy of the intense 8-metre-high flames that can be instantly ignited in a car crash by even a small tank of nitrous oxide.
Street racing has killed 35 people since 1999 in this province.
The compound is used as a speed enhancer by street racers. Highly explosive, it is often hidden under seats or in the trunk, posing a risk to emergency workers or good Samaritans offering help at a crash scene.
The substance is sold legally, but Ontario has introduced legislation that will make it illegal to drive a car with nitrous oxide on a city street – with a potential fine of up to $2,000 or a six-month jail sentence for offenders.
The message is very simple, said Patterson: “Speed kills. Those tanks have no place in your garage or in your car.”
Cars used in street racing often are registered to a parent or grandparent, with a teen or young adult listed as an occasional driver on the insurance policy, said Mark Yakabuski of the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
But nobody in the family will be covered if the car gets into an accident, he warned.
“When you modify a car and you do not inform the insurance company, you have nullified your insurance,” he said.
Most street racers tend to be males between 17 and 24, said York Region police Sgt. Dave Mitchell. But you can’t stereotype their cars, he said.
“It doesn’t matter what you drive – you can have something bred for racing or you can have your mom’s Dodge Caravan and still be an illegal street racer,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said Ontario’s tough new street racing law and increased enforcement is helping reduce the problem but it hasn’t been eliminated.
Also for most collision related articles, the Star now see fits to add,
Police do not believe street racing was involved
at the end of all their articles.