By

Valentina D’Alessandro was at a party with a few girlfriends in 2013 when one of them got sick. They accepted another teenager’s offer to drive the girls home in his red Mustang.

In a commercial area of Wilmington, at the intersection of two four-lane boulevards, a car pulled up alongside the Mustang.

The race began.

Minutes later, Valentina, 16, was dead, her body wedged in a passenger side window following a crash. Police found her high school identification card at the scene.

10 Muscle Cars Favored By Street Racers. A lot of the vehicles used in street racing are muscle cars. A lot of these cars are great and well known by fanatics, but these are the best.

She was one of at least 179 people who have died in Los Angeles County since 2000 in accidents where street racing was suspected, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis of coroner’s records, police reports and media accounts from 2000 to 2017.

Southern California has long been an epicenter of high-speed car culture. Wild police pursuits dominate television newscasts. The “Fast & Furious” film franchise, which many cops blame for hyping street racing, was set in Los Angeles.

Police say incidents of street racing are on the rise, driven by popular culture and the use of social media to draw contestants and evade authorities. In what racers call “takeovers,” participants use their cars to block off streets or intersections to stage races.

In recent years, car clubs from neighboring areas, including Orange County and the Inland Empire, have begun traveling to Los Angeles to compete against local racing crews, increasing the number of dangerous drivers in the county, investigators say.

“We have the locations. We have lots of flat street. We have industrial parks. And the Hollywood connection,” said Chief Chris O’Quinn, who leads the California Highway Patrol’s Southern Division in L.A. County. “This is the place to be.”

The deadliest year on record was 2007, with 18 fatal crashes. After a period with relatively few recorded deaths, the count grew in recent years, with 15 fatalities in 2015, 11 in 2016 and 12 deaths in 2017, the Times analysis shows.

The dead were overwhelmingly male and young: More than half were 21 or younger, including two children, ages 4 and 8, killed along with their mother. Slightly less than half of the victims— 47% — were behind the wheel. The rest were either passengers in the speeding vehicles, spectators or people simply walking on a sidewalk or driving home.

Who dies from street racing?

More than half the dead were not behind the wheel.

Deaths have occurred across Los Angeles County, but some places — Long Beach, Santa Clarita, industrial zones Southeast of downtown and the wide boulevards that stretch across South L.A. and the San Fernando Valley — have been trouble spots.

Where do street racing deaths happen?

Deaths have occurred all across L.A. County, with the biggest concentration in the small city of Commerce.

One of the few law enforcement agencies tracking street racing incidents is the CHP, and it has only been doing so since 2016. From July 2016 to July 2017, the CHP has recorded nearly 700 racing incidents in L.A. County. Those races involved roughly 17,000 vehicles and 22,000 people, according to the CHP data. The data did not include fatalities.

The Times examined street racing deaths since 2000. Its tally of 179 killed is a conservative estimate, because few law enforcement agencies track street racing fatalities and the incidents themselves are difficult to classify.

Authorities say many of the races that lead to fatalities are, like the crash that killed Valentina, spontaneous.

Valentina’s mother, Lili Trujillo D’Alessandro, didn’t know what street racing was before her daughter’s 2013 crash. The 4th coming soundtrack.

When she dropped Valentina off at a friend’s house that day, she remembered, “she looked amazingly adorable. I can’t even explain the love I felt in that moment.” Her daughter was wearing combat boots and mismatched socks, her brown hair tucked under a beanie.

“Maybe something inside of me told me I was never going to see her again,” Trujillo D’Alessandro, 53, said.

According to coroner’s records, the two cars were surging down the road at an “unsafe speed” when the Mustang slammed into a third car.

The driver of the Mustang survived. He was 17.

Less than a month later, Trujillo D’Alessandro went to an anti-drug assembly at her daughter’s high school, carrying a poster of a smiling Valentina. Soon after, she formed the advocacy group “Street Racing Kills.”

“I want the kids to see reality and hit them with reality,” Trujillo D’Alessandro said. “I want them to see that this can happen.”

Eric Siguenza, 26, and Wilson Thomas Wong, 50, were killed in February 2015 in an area of Chatsworth known as the “Canoga Speedway” while watching a street race with more than 60 others.

Nine months later, three people, including a 15-year-old, were killed in Commerce after a Dodge doing doughnuts in the street collided with a Ford, striking spectators. Sheriff’s deputies said more than 100 vehicles may have been in the area at the time.

Those deaths occurred during takeovers. The potential for danger, authorities said, is high, reinforced by drugs, large amounts of cash and other criminal activity.

“When you look at a takeover, you have a very large concentration of people, out of their vehicles, in a small area, and again you’ve got that 3,000-pound machine that is semi in control at best,” said Sgt. Jesse Garcia, one of the Los Angeles Police Department’s top street racing investigators. “You have the potential of a much higher number of victims should that vehicle lose control.”

Racers at takeover scenes have grown more aggressive toward police in recent years as well, according to O’Quinn, the CHP chief. Officers once were able to scatter racers with a flash of their cruisers’ lights. Now, some in the car scene fight back, either blocking a roadway to allow friends to escape or, at times, physically confronting officers.

A fire engine and ambulance responding to a medical emergency near downtown last year came across a takeover and were “surrounded by a large group in the hundreds, possibly more,” said Peter Sanders, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The crew put out a distress call after some racers leaped into the emergency vehicle, Sanders said.

No one was injured, but another ambulance needed to be dispatched to help the subject of the original emergency call, who was struggling to breathe.

“That activity placed somebody’s life in danger,” said Capt. Al Lopez, of the LAPD’s Central Traffic bureau, whose investigators are searching for suspects in that incident.

The takeover scene, police say, has grown stronger in recent years, bolstered by a young population hungry for attention on social media. Events can be organized within hours, and locations can be changed on the fly.

Instagram “likes” on viral videos of stunts — people performing doughnuts or bouncing lowriders — are the new street cred, Garcia said. As much as $20,000 is bet on some illegal drag races.

Tracking the number of street races is difficult. Street racing is not listed as a possible cause on state forms that record traffic collisions, so many agencies don’t keep detailed records. Others don’t agree on how to define a street race or speed contest. The penal code’s definition is broad and includes races against a “clock or timing device.”

The image of two cars rocketing down a stretch of asphalt is commonly associated with street racing, but some agencies, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, also include single-car crashes that involve racing against the clock.

Following a 2016 crash in Commerce, the LAPD and CHP formed a task force to tackle the problem of illicit racing. In the past three years, seven people have died in the city of about 13,000 traversed by the 5 and 710 freeways.

Deaths in the City of Commerce

Eleven have died on the small, industrial city’s streets since 2000.

Three of those deaths occurred in the fiery 2016 collision. A suspected street racer doing 100 mph lost control of his Dodge Charger on the 5 Freeway and slammed into a UPS truck, which went airborne, landed on the center divider and collided with two other vehicles before exploding. Two passengers in one of the cars — Brian Lewandowski, 18, and Michelle Littlefield, 19 — were killed, along with the driver of the UPS truck, Scott Treadway, 52. Four others were injured.

“My every day, my every move with my wife, was about my daughter,” said Willy Littlefield, Michelle’s father. “When we wake up, we have to remind ourselves that our daughter is not here, that this is the new reality.”

Dealio Lockhart, 37, was charged with three counts of murder in connection with the incident. He is still awaiting trial. A second driver remains at large.

A few law enforcement agencies have assigned officers to the task force. But some agencies say they lack manpower. The CHP has assigned two-full-time detectives, O’Quinn said.

At least a dozen officers in the LAPD’s Central Bureau investigate street racing, focusing on organized meet-ups since spontaneous racing is nearly impossible to deter. Efforts to place a similar unit in the Valley, another racing hot zone, were abandoned for lack of staff, a street racing investigator said.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander, whose district includes a stretch of the San Fernando Valley that is infamous for racing, is an outspoken critic of the scene’s culture and the department’s response. Three years ago, the city council approved an ordinance he authored that requires the LAPD to incorporate a wide array of data regarding street racing into the department’s crime tracking system. After a fiery racing-related crash claimed the lives of four young people in Northridge last October, LAPD officials admitted during a public hearing that they still weren’t doing so.

“You can’t solve a problem that you don’t measure,” Englander said.

Late last year, the LAPD began tracking fatalities, injuries, crashes and the number of citations related to races, according to Josh Rubenstein, a department spokesman. The information was added to the department’s crime tracking system in January, he said.

The Times’ analysis found that at least 60 people died in crashes related to street racing in the city of Los Angeles between 2000 and 2017. Only two other cities in the county — Long Beach and Commerce — saw more than 10 deaths during that period.

Neither the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department nor the Long Beach Police Department, two of the largest agencies in the region, have officers assigned to the county task force.

County deputies are being trained to recognize vehicles that have been modified for racing, but, Det. Christine Ostrander said, “our deputies are just overworked, understaffed.”

When Benny Golbin, 36, didn’t show up to play saxophone for a Steely Dan cover band in Seal Beach on a Friday night in January 2016, his family knew something was wrong.

Hours later, they got the news: Golbin, a musician and teacher, was dead. That afternoon, as he was heading between jobs, a silver Chevrolet Cobalt flew over a median on Crenshaw Boulevard in Hawthorne and landed on his Honda CR-V. He was killed instantly.

Police said at the time that the Cobalt was racing a red Camaro. The driver of the Cobalt wasn’t seriously injured. The driver of the Camaro fled and was later arrested.

For Golbin’s family, the loss is only made worse by the outcome of the criminal prosecution in his death. The drivers of the Cobalt, Alfredo Perez Davila, and the Camaro, Anthony Leon Holley, were initially charged with murder but ultimately accepted plea deals. Davila pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison. Holley pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run and was sentenced to three years probation after an emotional and contentious court hearing last July. The prosecutor declined to comment.

Benny Golbin’s wife pleaded with the judge for a stiffer sentence, saying that she would not call the incident a “car accident.”

“It is a murder,” said Anchesa Bunyasai.

When Golbin’s mother, Sheri Kessel, hears a saxophone playing on the radio, she turns it off.

“This isn’t just going out and driving fast and having fun with your friends,” she said. “People get killed. This is life and death.”

Times Data Editor Ben Welsh and Staff Writer Maloy Moore contributed to this report.

Digital production by Ben Welsh. Graphics by Ellis Simani.

About the analysis: The Times compiled the death toll by reviewing coroner's records and isolating cases where police determined through witness statements or surveillance footage that at least two vehicles had been engaged in a speed contest or where investigators confirmed a vehicle stunt associated with street racing, such as a 'burnout,' played a role in a death.

To learn more about the data analysis featured in this story and review the computer code that generated its conclusions, visit github.com/datadesk/street-racing-analysis.

Lead video: The aftermath of the 2016 Commerce crash. (KTLA)

More from the Los Angeles Times

Illegal street race in,Street racing is typically an unsanctioned and illegal form of that occurs on a. Racing in the streets is an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing of automobiles is as old as the automobile itself. It became especially prevalent during the heyday of and, and it continues to be both popular and hazardous, with deaths and maiming of bystanders, passengers, and drivers occurring every year. In the United States, modern street racing traces its roots back to, in the 1960s when the three main -based car companies were producing high-powered performance cars. A private racing venue was not always available, and therefore the race would be held illegally on public roads.Though typically taking place in uncrowded highways on city outskirts or in the countryside, some races are held in industrial complexes. Street racing can either be spontaneous or well planned and coordinated.

Well-coordinated races are planned in advance and often have people communicating via / and using and units to mark locations of local police hot spots. Opponents of street racing cite a relative to sanctioned racing events, as well as legal repercussions arising from incidents, among street racing's drawbacks. The term street racing must not be confused with the legal and governed sport of; see terminology below. Contents.Types Takeovers In its simplest form, 'takeovers' can be described as gatherings by car enthusiasts and street racers alike with the sole purpose of taking their passions into the public eye.

This can often mean something like a large abandoned parking lot, a sizeable location they specifically asked for permission to use, or other locations that are known to be car enthusiast-friendly where they are welcomed.Many takeover car meets tend to happen during the mid-late hours of the night and sometimes continuing into early mornings. There is often no agenda of duration and these racers are often smart enough to change locations when police are informed of their current location. However, the interesting dynamic is that the drivers and families who attend these events often mean no harm. Take, for example, popular automotive YouTubers, &. What they all have in common is that they come to car shows only with the intent to capture beautiful and unique pieces of machinery for cinematic and vlogging purposes. Many attendees are auto enthusiasts and go to such events for a look at rare cars, to see vehicles of their childhood dreams in person, or simply just to connect with others in the car world. However, there are few people on occasion that inevitably ruin the feeling of security at auto shows for everyone by behaving immaturely.

Fortunately they often attract the attention of law enforcement fairly quickly, so accidents or injuries can be avoided.Tōge racing. Main article:The sport of and (also transcribed touge) racing, primarily from, has led to its acceptance in other parts of the world. — Japanese for 'mountain pass', because these races are held on mountain roads and passes — generally refers to racing, one car at a time or in a chase format, through mountain passes (the definition of which varies per locale and racing organization). Examples of such roads include in; in;; and, on the island of, in Japan.

However, street racing competition can lead to more people racing on a given road than would ordinarily be permitted (hence leading to the reputation of inherent danger).Touge races, called Battles, are typically run at night between 2 cars in either 'Cat and mouse' or rules. A series of matches are run with a lead and a chase driver starting either side by side or bumper to bumper at the starting point. If the lead driver manages to create a noticeable gap (also called pulling a gap) between their car and the chase driver by the finish line, he is determined the winner of the match. If the chase driver manages to stay on his opponent's tail, or passes the lead driver to cross the finish line first, he wins the match instead.

In the second match, the trailing driver takes the front place and the winner is determined using the same method. If each driver wins one match, sometimes a sudden death match ensues via coin toss to determine the lead position. Sometimes sudden death matches are used when there is not sufficient time to run another 2 matches, or if a driver pleads that his equipment cannot handle the rigour of another round.

Whoever wins a sudden death match wins the race. It is important to note that using Initial D rules, if a driver crashes they lose the race and there are no sudden death matches. If not using Initial D rules, then a crash may mean only losing the match, not just the race. As with all street racing, there are no official rules and any advantage that a competitor has may be used as long as the challenging party agrees to the race.Not all Touge races are Battles. Groups of racers may meet up for club runs, exhibition, test runs or fun runs without determining winners or losers. See this showing Touge action in Hyogo Japan. At 4:20 It depicts a battle between a (on board) and a.

The rest of the video is exhibition.Sprints 'Sprints', also called 'cannonball runs', are illegal that involve a handful of racers. They hearken back to the authorized European races at the end of the 19th century. The races died away when the chaotic 1903 was canceled at for safety reasons after numerous fatalities involving drivers and pedestrians. Point-to-point runs reappeared in the United States in the mid-1910s when drove cross-country on record breaking runs that stood for years, being legal at the time. The term cannonball was coined for him in honor of his runs. Nowadays drivers will race from one part of a town or country to the other side; whoever makes the fastest overall time is the winner.

A perfect example of an illegal road race was the 1970s original, also known as 'The Cannonball Run', that long-time automotive journalist founded. The exploits spawned numerous films, the best known being. Several years after the notorious 'Cannonball', Yates created the family-friendly and somewhat legal version where speeding occurs in race circuits and is still running to this day.In modern society it is rather difficult if not impossible to organize an illegal and extremely dangerous road race, but there are still a few events which may be considered racing, such as the, Gumball Rally, and Players Run races.

These 'races', better known as rallies for legality's sake, mostly comprise wealthy individuals racing across the country for fun. The AKA Rally, however, is designed for individuals with a smaller budget (approximately $3,000). Entrance fees to these events are usually all-inclusive (hotels, food, and events). Participants 'rally' together from a start point to predetermined locations until they arrive at the finish line. The AKA Rally in particular has organized driver oriented events, e.g.

Or drag strip races, away from public roads to minimize the risk of drivers getting too enthusiastic on public roads. The latter racing community has even spawned numerous TV and video series including the Mischief film series and reality TV show.

The AKA Rally was featured on in a 2004 episode of and was filmed in 2008 for a six-part series on the TV network. Numerous games are based on the cannonball run type race, most famously 's. It was also parodied in the 1960s–1970s series.Legally sanctioned events Sometimes street racers bring their racers to a sanctioned track. This may occur when very fast cars are pairing up and racers and/or gamblers don't want the outcome of the race to be determined by the conditions of the racing surface since public roadways don't usually offer the well prepared surface of the sanctioned track.

These racers still consider themselves to be street racers since this type of one on one racing isn't usually contested in sanctioned racing classes, especially if the race involves the common street race type handicaps (as seen in ). Such races are usually referred to as 'grudge races,' which are frequently organised in regularly scheduled events at the drag strip ('Test and Tune' days). In some instances, the race track shuts off the scoreboard that typically would display the racer's performance numbers.Many street-style racers organize entire events at a legally sanctioned tracks.No Time: The track's timing equipment is shut off and info on the car's performance is only displayed to track personnel for the purpose of enforcing safety rules. Often, even the racer does not know his elapsed time or terminal velocity went until the official time slip is handed to the driver at the end of the race. These races typically have cars that are loosely separated into one or more classes based on the types of modifications they have, and are run heads up (no handicaps) in a traditional drag racing eliminator format until the winner is determined.No Prep: The track surface is not treated with PJ1 Trackbite or other chemicals it would normally be for a traditional event, and sometimes the clocks are turned off (except for the officials and the time slip). The purpose of a no prep race is to simulate the marginal track surface conditions typically found on public roadways. Racers who prefer this type of event typically do so because it allows the competitors to show that their cars could actually be competitive on a public roadway without the need to risk life or limb by racing on the street.

However, this can be controversial. In 2012, the FIA European Drag Racing Championship cancelled championship status at the round after authorities demanded all treatment be sandblasted off the entire drag strip as Formula One teams could use the launch pad area (which doubles as the runoff headed to the final turn of the road course) to gain traction in an advantageous way. The track effectively became 'no prep' at the drag racing meet weeks later, and after numerous complaints about the no-prep surface the event was run without championship status.Roll Race: The cars are typically up to 100 meters (110 yards) behind the start line when a signal is given for the cars to go. The cars roll past the Christmas tree at 100 km/h (62 mph) past the timing beams to start the race. This form of drag racing on land is similar to on water.Instant Green: The is programmed, once both cars are staged, to skip the yellow light countdown and immediately turn on the green light when the computer activates the start sequence randomly after both cars are staged.

This is similar to 'stop light' drag racing where street racers left on the traffic light turning green.Terminology Globally, an 'official' lexicon of street racing terminology is difficult to establish as terminology differs by location. Examples of this diversity can be found in the various words utilized to identify the illegal street racers themselves, including hoonigan and boy-racer ( and ), tramero , hashiriya (Japan), and mat rempit.Terms common to the United States and other English-speaking countries include:- A system in which the oxygen required for burning fuel stems from the decomposition of (N2O) rather than air, which increases an engine's power output by allowing fuel to be burned at a higher-than-normal rate. Other terms used include the juice, the squeeze, the bottle, and NOS.Pottstown or Potts Race - When two cars drag race through two or more traffic lights until the losing car stops at a traffic signal. This was popular in the 1980s in the town of until the borough reduced commonly used streets to a single lane in an effort to deter the practice.Big Tire race - Two cars that race with a set of tires taller than 28.5 inches tall and or wider than 12.5 inches of tread. Typically this term is used in reference to the rear tires of cars used in straight line racing, and refers to a car that has modifications to the rear framer rails and suspension system to allow the large tires to fit under the car, but sometimes low budget racers will simply cut the body panels of the car and allow the large tires to extend beyond the body width of the car.

Cutting the body is a modification that is considered substandard and if often done to falsely make a car look like it is not built well in the hope of convincing other racers that the car isn't very fast, with the hopes the other racers will offer a handicap start. Such rules are also used in legitimate as classes of cars.Small Tire race - Two cars that race with a set cars with tires smaller than or equal to 28.5 in and or equal 12.5 in of tread. This type of racing usually assumes that the rear frame rails and suspension are not radically modified.

Small tires limit how much power that the car can apply to the ground. There are also legally sanctioned races that separate cars into classes based on tire size and chassis modifications. There are even entire legally sanctioned racing events limited to only small tire cars and cars that use DOT approved tree legal tires rather than racing slicks. Such rules are also used in legitimate as classes of cars.David versus Goliath - When a large tire car races a small tire car.A dig may refer to all participants toeing a line, aligning the front tire of the vehicles, after which all vehicles race from a stop to a prearranged point (typically a in the United States, but may vary by locale).A roll generally refers to a which starts at a non-zero speed, and continues until all but one participant has stopped racing. This may be accompanied by three honks which would be analogous to a.To be set out lengths is a system of handicapping that allows a perceived slower car to start their race a number of car lengths ahead and requiring the perceived faster car to catch up and pass the slower car. There are often heated negotiations to determine a fair number.

This would be analogous to the handicap start format used where one car has a over the other. Some drag strips offer such street racing style events.To get the ' go', jump, break, hit, kick, or move is to start the race without the flagger. This is another system of handicapping that requires one car to wait until they see the other car start to move before they are allowed to leave their starting line. In legitimate drag strips that run street racing style events, a jump is used for a red light foul if the Christmas Tree is used.Another handicap that can be offered, especially in short distance straight races is called 'the get off' or 'the clear'. This stipulation means that at the finish line the rear most part of the car offering this handicap must be clearly ahead of the front most part of the car that is receiving it in order for the front car to be considered the winner.

This section may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. Please help by or any relevant information, and removing excessive detail that may be against. ( September 2015) Europe Street racing in most European countries is illegal.

The most common way of street racing is grip on mountain passes, especially in the north of, with roads like, the biggest and the most exciting roads in Catalonia, about 270 km of pure winding road Germany On 1 February 2016, two street racers killed a 69-year-old pensioner, a father of two when one of the drivers rammed his vehicle on the in Berlin. In February 2017, the sentenced the two drivers for collaborative murder, in the first murder conviction for street racers. The verdict was appealed to the as it was not clear the drivers had driven with deadly intent or criminal negligence. The second trial was started over in August 2018 at which time the drivers had spent two years locked up in detention.

Kiddions. The second trial was annulled and a third trial started in November 2018. Portugal In Portugal, street racing is illegal, but is still widely popular, mainly among teenagers and young adults between the ages of 18–30. The preferred sites for street racing are industrial areas, wide streets in the largest cities and connecting locations around them. The main hot-spot for the street racing practice in Portugal is the, the longest bridge in Europe, with 17.2 km (10.7 mi), providing a long and large straight for drag races. These hot-spots usually have automatic installed. The races are usually performed at night, when there are fewer drivers on the roads.In spite of the many efforts by the police against the threat, and according to sources from the and the, crimes related to street racing are still increasing, which led to the promulgation of a new law that allows one to be convicted of 'homicide in the context of a street race' instead of only.Since the races are now mainly scheduled through and, the police maintains a constant vigilance over street racing websites. Also, videos depicting street races in video hosting websites like, help the police to identify locations and individuals and, eventually, prosecute them.An association of speed-loving volunteers, called Superdrivers, fights for sanctioned racing events to happen every weekend and opposes street racing.

They complain that legal racing is only available once or twice a year and under restricted conditions. Australia Street racing in Australia occurs across the country most notably in certain suburbs of major cities and semi-rural New South Wales and Victoria. People who participate, specifically the drivers themselves, are referred to as or 'boyracers' in New Zealand.

The term is also used as a verb to describe reckless and dangerous driving in general ('to hoon' or 'to hoon around').Street racing began in the late 1960s as the local vehicle manufacturers (Ford Australia, Chrysler Australia and Holden) began creating performance versions of their family cars both for attracting the growing male youth market and meeting racing requirements. Vehicles such as the Chrysler Valiant Pacer offered strong performance at an affordable price, while vehicles from Ford offered even stronger performance at an even more affordable price. While V8's were popular most street-racers concentrated on tuning the locally designed and built Chrysler 265ci Hemi, Holden 202ci and Ford 250ci six-cylinder engines used in the Chrysler Valiant, Chrysler Valiant Charger, Holden Torana, Holden Monaro, Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon.Laws exist in all states and territories that limit modifications done to vehicles and prohibit having hooked up to, or even present inside a car. In most states and territories P-Plater (Provisional Drivers) are not allowed to drive any vehicle with more than six cylinders as well as turbo. In most states further laws impose strong penalties for street racing such as confiscating/impounding the vehicle and loss of license.Australia has lower reported levels of this behavior than New Zealand related to street racing due in part to the size of the Australian continent and much of it occurring undetected in remote rural locations and/or at odd hours.

Stricter rules recently imposed on safety features of imported cars, reducing the volume of small and cheap Japanese imports that are typically modified with loud exhaust tips and cut-down coil springs by boy racers. Brazil In Brazil, street races are commonly known as 'pegas' or 'rachas'. Since 1997, the National Traffic Code of Brazil prohibits street racing, stunts, dangerous moves and related competitions in public streets; racers may have their driving licenses and cars confiscated, besides paying a fine and going to jail from six months to two years. Popular street racing venues are often discovered by police after receiving information from. In such cases, officers are first sent to check if the information is correct. If so, the roads leading out of the place are blocked and the competitors arrested.Legal amateur racing is possible in some places.

For example, the venue for the, hosts regular amateur racing events with appropriate infrastructure. Some racecourses have events such as or with cars split into categories by power. Canada A driver convicted of a causing a street racing fatality can be sentenced to as a maximum term, with full parole possible after serving 7 years in prison.

A driver convicted of injuring another person in the course of a street race is subject to a prison term of at most 14 years.Every one commits an offence who operates. A motor vehicle in a manner that is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances, including the nature, condition and use of the place at which the motor vehicle is being operated and the amount of traffic that at the time is or might reasonably be expected to be at that place; China In 2015, police conducted a raid, arresting 13 residents, who were fined and sentenced to between one and four months' jail, after being caught driving at up to 275 km/h (171 mph). The drivers, who drove a fleet of luxury sport cars including, and, was arrested at the border in trying to return to Hong Kong.The law under which this arrest took place was enacted in 2010 after Hu Bin, a student mounted the sidewalk in a street race, killing a pedestrian. A public outcry ensued, as Hu came from a wealthy family, while the victim was his family's sole bread-winner. Hu was sentenced three years and was fined 1.1 million yuan as well as an unspecified driving ban. Japan Street racers, known natively as hashiriya (走り屋), often run their cars on and, where they are known as kōsoku battle or commonly known as Roulette-zoku as they drive round and round in circular motions and frequently occur on the in. Japanese racers have also popularized racing along the narrow winding roads of the mountains of the country, known as (portrayed in the manga/anime series ).The most notorious group to be associated with street racing was the Mid Night Club, who became world famous for their speeds, at times exceeding 300 km/h (190 mph).

The expressway racing scene is portrayed in the manga, as well as in the movie series.With heavier punishments, patrolling police cars, crackdowns in meeting areas and the installation of speed cameras, expressway racing in Japan is not as common today as it was during the 1980s and the 1990s. Still, it occurs on a not-so-regular basis.

Persistent racers often install spring assisted license-plate swivelling mechanisms that hold plates down at speed or picture-proof screens over their plates. In 2001, the amount of hashiriya dropped from 9,624 (in 1995) to 4,365 and police arrests in areas where hashiriya gather are common.

Cars are checked for illegal modification and if found, owners are fined and forced to remove the offending modifications.One of the causes of street racing in Japan is that, despite the fame and large number of race circuits, these circuits can become overcrowded. Furthermore, such circuits may cost as much as 20,000 to race, while the highway toll may cost less than ¥1,000.As in other countries, street racing also occurs on long straights in industrial areas, which are used for drag races, known natively as Zero-Yon (ゼロヨン) for '0-400' (meters; in America, racing to a quarter-mile, 1320 feet, or 402 meters, is the norm), Yon is Japanese for '4'.

This practice gave its name to the popular 1990s video game franchise,.Malaysia. Main article:Street racing in is illegal, as is watching a street race; this is enforced by the. Many streets, roads, and in, and other cities or towns in the country have become sites for racing. Among the participants are teenagers driving modified cars or riding motorcycles.Motorcycle street racers in Malaysia are known in as Mat Rempit. These Mat Rempit are infamous for their 'Superman' and other feats performed on their motorcycles. They are also notorious for their ' cilok', a kind of racing in which racers weave in-between moving and stationary traffic at high speed.

In addition to doing their stunts and racing around, they have a habit of causing public disorder. They usually travel in large groups and at times raid isolated petrol stations. They can cordon off normal traffic flow to allow their friends race along a predetermined circuit.Most illegal car racers in Malaysia use modified common cars or bargain performance cars. Some of the commonly used cars include national cars such as the, or Japanese cars such as the first-generation, the new,.

High-performance western cars such as, and have also been used. Illegal drift racing often takes place on dangerous hill roads such as, or, Penang. Meanwhile, illegal drag racing takes place on such as the in. Illegal racers can be distinguished by their over-modified vehicles which do not follow road regulations in Malaysia.Meanwhile, on 3 May 2009, the Bukit Aman Traffic Division of the, together with the, have once again launched a major integrated operation to crack down on both cars and Mat Rempit motorcycles involved in illegal racing. More than 115 motorcycles were impounded in the major operation which was held simultaneously in,. New Zealand New Zealand also has strict rules on vehicle modifications and a registered engineer must audit any major modification and certify roadworthiness within a system known as the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association. The LVVTA exists to service legal motorsport and responsible modifications only, but the system is prohibitively expensive and seems to be engineered to discourage hot rodding rather than promote it.

Unofficial street racing remains illegal and police are well endowed with equipment to use, such as 'sustained loss of traction' which carries a minimum sentence of licence disqualification and maximum sentence of imprisonment. Street racing is common in New Zealand and there are many small clubs offering street racing in remote rural roads.

Despite its popularity, rates of incident due to street racing in New Zealand are relatively low. Turkey In Turkey, street racing is illegal. Since the 1960s street racing has been a sub-culture of the in, where young wealthy men tag-raced their imported. Most of these young men are now middle-agers reliving their years of excitement as famous professional or track racers. With the heightened and culture starting in the 1990s, street racing was revived in full. Towards the end of the 1990s, mid-night street racing caused many fatal accidents, which came to a minimum level thanks to intense police patrol.

United States. This section possibly contains. Please by the claims made and adding. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.

( August 2014) There is a strong racing culture in, particularly. It is considered to be the birthplace of North American. This area was covered in some depth by magazines such as and in the late 1990s. In some cases, this popularity has led to tough anti-street racing laws which give stricter punishments (including for attending race events) than normal traffic citations and also often involve dedicated anti-racing task forces., in Southern California was the first US city to allow the arrest of spectators attending street races.

Penalties for violating street racing laws now can include impoundment and even destruction of the offending vehicle and/or the suspension or revocation of the offender's.Some police departments in the United States have also undertaken community outreach programs to work with the racing community to educate them to the dangers of street racing, as well as to encourage them to race in sanctioned events. This has also led to a campaign introduced in 2000 called (RASR), a grass-roots enthusiast group consisting of auto manufacturers, after market parts companies, professional drag racers, sanctioning bodies, race tracks and automotive magazines devoted to promoting the use of safe and legal raceways as an alternative to street racing. Kent's Beat the Heat is a typical example of this type of program.

Other such alliances have been forged in southern and central California, reducing the incidence of street racing there. Except San Diego, popular racing locations have been, and the suburb of.Popular media Films In the 1970s the movies and played a key role in the expansion of street racing and the joy of owning a. This much later catapulted the highly successful film series, which is based on street racing, although later Fast and Furious films starting with transitioned the series to heists and action, with fewer street races seen in the films. Also gives a significant overview of what street racing is. Also gives an insight to the world of street racing, as shown in the beginning when the protagonist Cary Ford passes 2 street racers before going to a diner, although the movie is more about the use of high-performance motorbikes than cars.

A documentary film, Speed and Mayhem Down Under, shows the real street racing scene in Australia. Also, in Japanese anime and manga series portrayed street racing in Japan, on.Video games. This section possibly contains. Please by the claims made and adding. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.

( July 2012) One of the oldest and longest running street racing video game franchises is the Japanese which has seen dozens of releases on a variety of platforms starting in 1994 on the. It is known in NTSC-U and PAL territories with names such as, Highway Challenge, Street Supremacy or, and takes inspiration from and racing as well as racing.The street racing series has been very successful in the market and is available on many platforms.

This series includes the first title Midnight Club for the and; for the PlayStation 2, PC and; and for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and then later released on the. Was later released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

Was the first of the series to be released on video game consoles.Several missions in the popular video game series see the player participating in races on the city streets. While a few are mandatory, most are offered as side-missions that the player can undertake to earn money. Some of these missions often involve in addition of regular street racing, which the player requires to attack opponents via, in order to damage their vehicles or kill the opposing driver.The series originally started on the system in 1994. Although the earlier games were noted for daytime racing on public roads with high-performance cars of their times, several later titles affiliated with street racing, which came out after the series was established, after in particular. Among them, the Underground series (encompassing and ), takes place at night in various urban areas, but lacks any police to pursue the player. Reintroduces police pursuit into gameplay and is set in daytime.

It also draws controversy by encouraging the player to damage police cars by any means necessary to acquire bounty. The next Need for Speed title, sees the return of night time racing and features police pursuits, although not mandatory to damage police cars as in the previous installment. The 2007 Need for Speed title, has gotten rid of the illegal street racing, and is now entirely legal, closed-track races, with no police involvement - much to the disappointment of some of the series' fans (and worse reviews by most video game reviewers). The next title, does return to illegal street racing and features gameplay similar to Most Wanted and Carbon. Unlike Most Wanted and Carbon, this time the plot involves an undercover police officer who is trying to break up an international crime ring; however, the game was very badly reviewed, and considered by many to be the low point of the series. Two Need for Speed tiles, and, also feature street racing, whereas again returns to legal racing, much like, but this time with much more emphasis on realism and driving style Precision or Aggression. (2015) returns the player to the streets, again in the night.

Is the newest edition to the franchise that is scheduled to continue this street racing theme with its release on November 8th, 2019.The popular multi-platform (, ) series showcases fictional cars racing at high speed through traffic, with crashes rewarded by highly detailed slow motion destruction sequences. Later iterations include specific competition modes rewarding the largest monetary damage toll in specifically designed maps.Another game that features street racing is. The game mentions that it was developed with the intention of giving the gamer the thrill of high-speed driving.To meet commercial expectations, these games often compromise the realism of the car handling physics to give the user an easier game play experience. The greatest disparity is that most games have the player's vehicle being completely indestructible. This makes it possible to devise strategies that would be impossible in real life, such as using a wall to stop lateral velocity through a turn — rather than picking an appropriate.The series is also associated with street racing. The 1994 arcade game has several references to street racing, like real cars and an upgrading system such as spoilers, decals, neon lights, ground effects, and engines. However unlike in, there is not a pursuit system nor car damage.The classic, which is also for the, PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, PSP, and GBA, has similarities to an illegal street race.

Players choose a driver and a without any, or, and get passengers to their destinations while driving as if taking part in illegal street races all over, and.Several racetracks in the series involve street racing on a public road with traffic acting as hazards such as cars, buses, and trucks. The first game to include this feature is, and it has appeared at least once in subsequent games.The Rush arcade racing games featured street racing in simplified versions of real-world cities with the first and third game taking place in San Francisco,. The second game however, had races in all sorts of cities all over the United States. These game did not feature any traffic to interfere with the race.See also. (UK term). (Australian term).References.

North County Cruisers. Retrieved 2007-08-24. on. Archived from on 2007-10-16.

Retrieved 2007-08-24. Street Racing Online. Archived from on 2007-09-29.

Retrieved 2007-08-24. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W.

Glensor (2004). Street Racing Guide No.28. Center for Problem-Oriented Policing (COPS). Retrieved 2007-08-24. ^ Lowery A.B.

Makkar is the fastest street racer in the world, Pat. Kent Washington Police Department. Retrieved 2007-08-24. ^ Tanglao, Leezel (2007). The Press Enterprise. Retrieved 2007-08-24. Leigh, Andrew (1996-03-01).

'Youth and Street Racing'. Current Issues in Criminal Justice. 7 (3): 388–393. Kar, Indra Neal; Guillaume, Chantal; Sita, Kellienne R.; Gershon, Pnina; Simons-Morton, Bruce G. Journal of Adolescent Health. 62 (5): 626–629. Knight, S.; Cook, L.

J.; Olson, L. Injury Prevention. 10 (1): 53–55. Eisenhardt, Uta (2017-02-27). Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2018-12-29.

Berlin, Verena Mayer (2018-08-14). Sueddeutsche.de (in German).

Retrieved 2018-12-29. Spiegel Online.

Retrieved 2018-12-29. Spiegel Online.

Retrieved 2018-12-29. (Portuguese) Em defesa da velocidade segura e contra o street racing. 'Qld: Shonky car imports uncovered'. Australian Associated Press.

2001-04-03. ^ Cuminale, Natalia (21 July 2010). (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 January 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Branch, Legislative Services (2019-04-08).

Retrieved 2019-05-15. Branch, Legislative Services. Retrieved 2016-06-07.

South China Morning Post. 12 February 2015.

Retrieved 17 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 17 April 2016. ^ Nakashima, Ryan (2001-03-25).

The Japan Times. Retrieved 2007-08-24.

Meisan, Lau (2006-07-10). 'Swoop on illegal racers'. New Straits Times. '115 motor kena angkut'. Harian Metro (in Malay). January 2, 2007.

(in Turkish). Ramirez, Steve (2006). Competition Plus. Archived from on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-24.

^ Worrall, John L.; Stephen G. Tibbetts (2006-12-01). 'Explaining San Diego's Decline in Illegal Street-Racing Casualties'. Justice Quarterly.

Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 23 (4): 530–544.

Racers Against Street Racing. Retrieved 2007-08-24. Memmolo, Sam (2003-05-22).

Retrieved 2007-08-24. 'ProStreet is a solid racing game, but it's missing most of what made the previous games in the series interesting.' Retrieved 2007-08-24.

Retrieved 2007-08-24.External links. Media related to at Wikimedia Commons. Pasadena Law.