Tips on how to control yourself when people try to race you?

[MAGS1]

A vast majority of the time at least one of my kids is in my car with me and I refuse to do anything stupid with them (and/or my wife) in the car. It’s not worth it. In general, I prefer to live a long time and keep my cars in one piece and looking nice, so it’s pretty easy to resist.

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[HoosierDaddy]

Phoenix and suburbs must be a dull place. I can't remember being challenged in/on any of my cars, bikes, etc in this century. By challenge I mean doing something to signal a desire to race. Living in central Arizona where lowering a window can be fatal in some months, I keep them closed at all times. Don't even know for sure if they lower other than the 1/2 inch to open the door. So maybe I just don't hear verbal challenges or quiet exhaust revving.

If first at a light I enjoy getting up to speed quickly so may have unintentionally challenged someone. There have been occasions when I accelerated up to target speed then have someone from a few lanes over fly by.

 

[KingKona]

Phoenix and suburbs must be a dull place. I can't remember being challenged in/on any of my cars, bikes, etc in this century.

Me either. Maybe once years ago.

 

[Les]

The younger me was the kid that would try to provoke a race Every day. I graduated form high school in 1967 and had a new 1966 GTO convertible (a leftover from the year before) that I totally beat the crap out of. I had no respect for the car and mechanically destroyed it in 6 months. Hole in the side of the transmission, blew the clutch, burnt the valves over rev’n it, 3 sets of rear tires, destroyed u-joints ……… etc. etc. Someone should have taken the keys away from me and kicked my ass! Now at 73 years old with a Roush RS3, a GT350 and a 33 Ford HotRod, I treasure my cars. When an idiot (like I was) pulls up next to me and try’s to provoke a race I totally ignore them. I know how fast my cars are (Not the fastest available, but quick enough to have fun and get in trouble) and I couldn’t care less how fast their cars are. The younger me would try to race someone every day, the older me really thinks it’s stupid, risky, silly and VERY expensive if you get a ticket. OH NO! I sound like my father!

 

[Prodigal]

I have way too much to lose to play their silly games. A speeding ticket is one thing but a racing related ticket is quiet another. Hell, most of the time traffic is passing me. I short shift at 3k and generally keep my exhaust on normal or quiet mode to avoid being an attention magnet any more than the car is naturally.

 

[Balr14]

About the only thing I get is people pulling up next to me and "saying nice car". Street racing is almost unheard of around here. 90% of the vehicles on the road are SUVs and 4 door pickup trucks. So, even if I was inclined to race somebody, there's nobody to race and my vision would be obstructed. When I pull up to a stoplight, the odds are there are about 8 vehicles there and mine is the only car.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

The younger me was the kid that would try to provoke a race Every day. I graduated form high school in 1967 and had a new 1966 GTO convertible (a leftover from the year before) that I totally beat the crap out of. I had no respect for the car and mechanically destroyed it in 6 months. Hole in the side of the transmission, blew the clutch, burnt the valves over rev’n it, 3 sets of rear tires, destroyed u-joints ……… etc. etc. Someone should have taken the keys away from me and kicked my ass! Now at 73 years old with a Roush RS3, a GT350 and a 33 Ford HotRod, I treasure my cars. When an idiot (like I was) pulls up next to me and try’s to provoke a race I totally ignore them. I know how fast my cars are (Not the fastest available, but quick enough to have fun and get in trouble) and I couldn’t care less how fast their cars are. The younger me would try to race someone every day, the older me really thinks it’s stupid, risky, silly and VERY expensive if you get a ticket. OH NO! I sound like my father!

Yeah. I have a HUGE kill list with zero risk. My kill list is me pulling off the freeway, stopping and writing down every car that exited after me.

 

[Tib]

Most times that I get Rev'd or Asked to Race...I just keep looking forward. My kids are typically in the car. I'm in my 40's I don't need to race on the streets so I smile and keep driving normal.

 

[young at heart]

I have way too much to lose to play their silly games. A speeding ticket is one thing but a racing related ticket is quiet another. Hell, most of the time traffic is passing me. I shirt shift at 3k and generally keep my exhaust on normal or quiet mode to avoid being an attention magnet any more than the car is naturally.

Yeah, anything racing related today would be the kiss of death. Right now.

Quite a stark contrast to “back in the day” when if you knew the right people (and everybody I knew did) then a contrite coat-and-tie visit to the judge with a half gallon of Jack Black tucked under your arm would get you out of any ticket you could get. Only hitch was you had to get to the judge before the officer’s department turned the ticket into the state of GA. Now if you were unlucky enough to get nicked by the GSP you had to employ a little different strategy. Every new governor’s administration issued these little aide-de-camp cards to it‘s ”friends” and sometimes you’d have to get the holder of said card (usually your dad) to call the governor’s office.

I know now that it wasn’t right and I even knew back then it wasn’t right but I’d be lying to say I don’t kinda miss it.

 

[paulb351]

In Australia it is definite no, keep it on the track as laws now in place "anti-hoon" where racing or breaking traction is a hefty fine, loss of license and car impounded for 30 days with holding and processing fees comes to about $2000. Second offence and car is crushed... Sobers almost all, that care about their car, up real fast.

Track is much more fun anyway, 170mph+ is addictive and makes racing to 70mph on the street feel real boring.

 

[joe603]

I have issues in the mornings on the way to work...all back roads and it's usually dicks in pickup trucks with light bars on my ass. 90% of my drive is in 45 zones...so cant really do much. I need to tint my rear window to help eliminate some of the spotlight feeling when these ass-hats are 3 inches off my bumper.

 

[lugbolt]

Been drag racing for over 30 years. 24 of it professionally.

Do the racing on the track. More fun in my opinion.

When I were young and quite stupid, I got into street racing. First few races was fun. Then one night 2 cars took off, one got way out and then it got stupid, crossed the "track", got on it's side and T-boned a big White Oak tree with the roof. Driver did not make it. Fire dept (I worked with one of the firemen who got that call) showed up and picked him up in pieces. Car was unrecognizable, it too was in pieces. That was the last street race.

The drag strip has barriers and other safety stuff that helps to prevent some things from happening; none of that is on the roadways. On a drag strip you have barriers on each side and there are (usually) 2 cars, not hundreds. There are no people on the track. The track is prepped (even at no-prep...), it is much MUCH safer than a public street.

This past week a motorcyclist got up against one of those median cables on the freeway. I don't know all the details but when I drove by he was laying there lifeless in the median and most of his leg was laying right next to the shoulder of the lane as I drove by.

I still work with the fireman. 2 years ago two cars were racing on the local freeway at high(er) speeds. My coworker got the call and was first on the scene. One of the cars in the race rear ended another car that didn't have their lights on, pushed that car sideways and it partially ejected the driver as the car T-boned the bridge support sideways. The driver was partially hanging out and got mashed between the car and the bridge. My coworker had pics of it all. The driver's brain was hanging out of what was left of her ear and eye sockets.

So with all that said, when someone gets up beside me and burps his or her car at me challenging to a race, I let them act like an idiot. You really want to race, meet me at the drag strip and we'll race. I've lost races in the past, I've won races. So either way, it don't make much difference to me anymore. But if you challenge, and you don't show up, you're yellow belly chicken unless you have a good reason.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

Not sure about racing me, but I get revved at all the time, most people haven't seen this color so it draws a lot of attention. I have a chuckle at their shenanigans, taking the civilized approach as they make an ass out of themselves.

Not haven seen that colour before includes me. That's a really beautiful colour.

 

[jefffrot]

Here is some good advice

 

[Linkster1666]

Is it my turn to tell gory, dead people on the highway stories that didn't involve drag racing? I didn't think so.

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