Found out my 17 year old is street racing!?

a close by strip seems a good way to get around it. Most of the street racing seems like it's the macho, who's faster, thing. And peer pressure to back up the talk with the walk.

Get him on the track and teach him out to get the most out of his car. And them teach him some smack talk for the guys that still try to talk him into going at it on the street.

Stuff like "What's the matter, you POS won't pass tech at a real track"
or "Let's run where there's a time slip to show how slow your car is"
or even "You scared to run out there with the big boys?"

You get the idea. You have to find a way for him to understand that running at the track is cooler than running on the street.

I don't have kids and I was never a street racer,so I really don't know what you are going through. Just my thougts on the matter.

 

I too used to street race as a teenager, but after going to a few funerals and discovering track racing and autocross I lost my desire to street race. Here in Texas the fines for street racing are astonomical and can include losing your car and your license, bystanders can be hit with a 2nd degree misdemeaner. If my 17yo son decides his 280zx needs more power I will put a 5.13 gear and a 5 gallon fuel cell, at least I will be able to find him, he will be at a gas station. Seriously though, we built him a jr dragster when he was 8 and taught him at an early age that racing is for the track only. He also has a standing offer to go to the drag strip or an autocross at anytime. Judging from the tires on his car it seems to be working, 18 months on the same tires. Something else to consider, help him upgrade his brakes and suspension and put really good tires on the Stang. All those things together will help him avoid a crash.

 

After seeing a mutilated dead todler who was killed by the impact of someone who "thought they could control it", I say anyone who streetraces should get zero tolerance. I am sure I will catch shit here, but comments like "time to upgrade his brakes" don't help.

Hyfire

 

Life isn't fair. My boy knows that, and I remind him of it often.
One of the things that isn't fair is that parents get to be hypocrits. Sucks, and you feel bad about it, but oh well. Tell him point blank that yeah, you used to do it, but times were different, and you were lucky. The "Lawsuit Lottery" wasn't as big a deal, the police weren't out looking for you as hard as they are now, and there weren't as many people on the roads...or joggers and bike riders trying to get in shape and other people not paying attention to the world around them (cell phones, ipods/headsets, etc)
Not only is he in danger of hurting himself, but he could kill someone else, too...which is worse.
Tell him very simply, and very firmly, that if he wants to race, you'll take him to the track with all of his buddies and you'll all do the "race thing"--tuning in the pits, swapping on slicks, purging the "naws." It'll be fun, especially if a few of his buddies get involved, or if he starts betting for grudge race money.
But if you find out he's doing it on the street--or even suspect it because his tires are worn in 6 months--game over. He rides his bike if he needs to go somewhere, and he rides the bus to and from school. Make it for a month or so the first time. Second time you hear he's racing, sell the car.
You don't want to be that guy on the 6 o'clock news. Even if we all did do it when we were in high school, we were dumb and lucky. I quite when I almost floated into a curb at 110mph, going around a slow bend in the road. If I'd have hit it, I'd have rolled a 4,000 pound car through a house.
If you smoked crack as a teenager, would you excuse your kid from doing it just because you did it?

Brad

 

Please Please, Father, take that car away from him... the street is no place to fly around, yes you may have done it but that didn't make it right then either.

To loosely echo mpls said...
do you want him on the hook for killing my wife and little ones? Perhaps you want me to come over there and explain how I feel after my wife and kids are dead from his little fun on a business road...

Seriously, take it seriously... There should be no patience for the jerks that fly down PCH on one wheel, splitting lanes and barely avoiding collisions or the little twirps in their cars flying down the freeway. Ask my wife, she'll tell you how many stop light confrontations we've had with the kind.

Get him on the track and keep him there, take away the car he can race with and only let it be driven on the track...otherwise he takes the bus wherever he needs to go...

When/if I find out my son or daughter is doing that, THEY ARE DONE DRIVING! I don't care that they built the car, I don't care how many months we spent working on it. THEY ARE NOT RESPECTING OTHERS LIVES AND THEREFORE DESERVE NO RESPECT....

 

LAST WEEK. 2 teenagers killed, 2 in serious condition in Tulsa hospital.
16 yr old recieved a 70 Mustang for his b/day, grabbed up a couple of buddies and ran it thru the qtr mile. Blew a tire flipped the car. The driver and front passanger were trapped in the car as it burned. The rear passanger were tossed out of the car as it rolled.

 

My brother did this and so did his buddies. He now runs at the track exclusively while one of his buddies burned up in an S10 when it went off a straight road. Big cross on the side of the road. Burned tree stump still there after 15 years.

 

It ain't what it used to be. For one, some of these cars are a lot faster than the junk we used to drive. A new off the shelf Mustang GT would easily outrun most of the cars (actually probably all the cars) in my high school parking lot. Add the increased traffic, drugs, alcohol, gangs, weapons, and other stupid shit that is more prevalent now and you have a potentially dangerous situation.

And the consequenses are higher. In my day, it might mean a ticket. these days it could be worse, for example in Florida a finding of guilt for street racing results in an automatic 1 year suspension of your driving privileges. Here, street racing is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of not less than $500 and up to $1,000.00. Participating as a passenger or spectator could get you the same.


Brad's right. Offer to go to the track and kick his ass there on a regular basis. Any idiot can push the throttle too far on the street and make an ass of himself, but it takes talent and skill to RACE.

 

I used to street race back in Sacramento along the industrial areas. Happened late at night so nobody was around and no risk of accidents... or so we all thought.

Went out with some friends to make some laps and watched one smack the side of a rig trailer after losing control at 140 (estimated speed) and the other car kept on driving. My friend died that night as we all watched it happened and condoned the actions and shit talking that lead up to it.

I only lay tracks on legal raceways now, yeah I speed and such but the racing stays on sanctioned ground. I hate funerals and have been to way too many.

 

You got all the good advice and all the good reasons you need. TIME TO BE THE DAD. If you let this continue, your son will not respect you and you are culpable (ask a lawyer about THAT word-they love it), in any disaster your son creates. The excuses will be pretty thin at that point. Step up-you're the adult.

 

Back home, a local organized auto cross, they set up a bunch of pilons on an airstrip and see how fast they can go through and around without hitting them, and we also have friday nite street drags at the dragstrip, that way he can have fun and do it legally.

Talky

 

Hey BigMikeC, better explain the child support laws to him too!! My dad never really laid all those consequences out for me. I guess I was just lucky.

There was a kid at Reynolds with a 12 second 67 Camaro - his Pop had caught him racing on the street and took the tags off. They used it as a track only race car now and had gotten it going pretty fast.

The kid explained it all - he said he couldn't help it and that was the only way he could keep the car. I thought it was pretty responsible of both of them.

 

Here's a second vote for autocrossing, around here you can find one almost every weekend. I think its way more fun than going in a straight line AND it teaches you a ton about car control and really makes you a safer driver. Plus, its cheap and safe.

 

Okay here is my two cents. I have 5 kids, Two of which are Male. With what I have learned the hard way, You need to get your butt down and file a Youth at Risk on this kid right NOW. If he has a wreck (insured or not) You are going to get sued. Second, You can't teach him right from wrong now, If he hasn't got it by now It is too late to change him. That said, If he is smart enough he will listen to your Advice. It is time for you to be the Man of the Family and put a stop to it by what ever means nessesary. Do what my Dad did and Nail his drivers Licence right over the back of the Toilet until he has shown more responcibility. Then the 4 holes in it will remind him every time he shows it to a cop or for ID that he screwed up. Do you really want to go to your own kids Funeral? Do you really want to face the other families at their Kids Funeral? Think about it.

 

Street Racing is dangerous and stupid.

That said, I am sure we have all had our own light to light "spectacles"- that said, alot of us have also been driving for more than a year-it DOES NOT make it right or safe, I am simply stating,before anyone calls me a hypocrite, that I am...or at least used to be.

I think that if I had the chance to race on the weekends when I was "coming up", I would have spent ALOT more time at the track (I went to a "bad Boy" school) until I graduated, I did the majority of my racing on the street. Once I was released, I would routinely drive form Amarillo to Lubbock (at least twice a month, usually every weekend) to race. I think that your best bet is to A-Show him what happens to street racers- Wrecked cars and wrecked lives. it is unavoidable. sooner or later, he will end up on the wrong end of a bad deal (and perhaps not what you're thinking...Ever seen someone get "taxed" for thier wheels? or the whole car? picture your kid at gunpoint while some asshat drives that mustang off into the sunset- IT HAPPENS. Street racing breeds gambling, and gamblers in that reguard can be ...shady.)

then there is option B- get him to the track.
there is an excellent chance it will make big differences in him in alot of ways.
he gets to see how really serious guys do it, make friends that (might) teach him something, and most importantly learn how to make the car behave. Yeah, it can get expensive, but what would you rather help him buy...A roll bar, or a casket?
at least if he kisses rail at the track, the response time for medical attention is about 1 minute, if the para's were in line for a grese and petrol burger.on that nice , secluded secret street, what happens if both cars crash?
what if he crashes and the other kid runs out of fear?

if you really want to make a point, go to the local mortuary, and have him walk in with you to price out some caskets- dont tell kim where you are going, just go. (this worked for me...)
once inside, let him know that you would like for him to consider taking it to the track. hand him a Summit or Jegs, and then a brouhure for caskets, and ask him which catalog He would like you to shop for him from.

I could wax cathartic about all the guys I know that died in street racing accidents-again, I am a hypocrite- but know this fact. all of the tattoos on my left arm are "in memory" peices. I am almost sleeved out.

 

Ha, ha, ha...you must be kidding?!?

Anyways--try to be a good dad and steer him in the right direction of how dangerous it is and he should do it at a track. Don't come down to hard though, it will only alienate him and make him do it more. Don't take his car away, he hasn't done anything wrong. Most importantly though take a trip back down memory lane when you were 17. Granted if it is a different time, 17 is 17. Plus, isn't this all just hersay? You know what happens when you assume....

 

Take the car before the grim reaper takes your SON.Be a responsible parent,its not that hard .In California,the police take your car and crush it!!!

 

maybe let him read this thread - let him understand there are consequences and you are only trying to help him.

 

One thing that might work is, if you have a good insurance agent, take your son for a sit down session. Have the agent explain what SR-22 insurance is, how it gets applied to reckless drivers, how much it costs and for how long. Tell your son that if he gets busted for speeding/racing that you will have to drop him from your family insurance policy because it will cost you too much. This might scare him enough to slow down, cause the risk of death or bodily injure won't.

Unfortunately I speak of this from experience. I was busted for doing 95 in a 55 when I was 17. After losing my license for a year, my senior year of high school, my dad's insurance company dropped me and I had to get my own insurance. My yearly insurance bill was double what my car was worth and that was just for liability. This 1 ticket followed me via insuance premiums all the way thru college and into my first real job. The money that I have paid to insurance companies just from that one ticket could have paid for 2 hotrods.... sad huh.

Good luck.. and get your kid a brake upgrade...

 

Hey Mike,
It looks to me like you're saying you want to "encourage him to race and have fun- within reason of course, because its a great way to learn his machine" on the street. It seems to me that you're asking how to deal with the feelings of being an old fuddy duddy, hypocrite, etc. Please let us know if that's the case, and I'm sure many will have good responses.

In the same sentence you say, "but if he ever got caught by the law, or got hurt, I would feel responsible..." If he ever got caught by the law, or got hurt, [or hurt or killed someone else] you could be financially responsible- he's a juvenile.

I agree with the few others that said you need to step up and be the adult. I wholeheartedly agree with the others that have said you need to do everything you can to stop him from being involved in street racing at all. And it's not just street racing, there are all kinds of ways- you need to try to get him to understand driving is serious and dangerous. I also agree that if he's that interested in racing, get him involved in autocross and/or drag racing, go-karts, motocross, etc.

It seems several are assuming he won't listen to you. I say you need to start by talking with him as your son, and almost a legal adult. If he cannot act as a responsible adult, then it is your responsibility to ...

 

I imagine it would be hard to not seem to be a hypocrite in this situation. It seems to me he learned about the passion for steel and speed from his old man. I assume that sometime during the years you stressed safety and consequences along with performance and speed? Reiterate the REAL consequences of a high-speed collision, roll-over, telephone pole - or even worse, the striking of a pedestrian trying to be a hotshot showoff. Two words he'll likely understand: GAME OVER. There is no reset button either. Good luck.

 

I went to the illegal street races for about 10 years straight when I was groing up. It was organized way out of town (about 20 miles) on an empty road behind the dump. I never saw anyone get hurt. The worst accident I saw was when a friend of mine was turning around behind a guy to stage and the idiot threw his car into reverse to do a burn-out up to the line and creamed my friend's car. The off-duty cops would trailer out their track cars and you often had 10-11 sec cars out there. It all started to die when the ricers/mini-truckers showed up. It just wasn't as much fun to watch them.

The only serious accident I ever heard of out there was a guy I knew cartwheeling his 5.0 mustang. But he walked away.

But if he's doing it on the streets, it's a whole 'nuther ballgame...

I think if you built the car for him or baught it for him, it's time to park it for a while. At least a month. I don't think he should get to drive it at all. Not even to work or whatever.

If he paid for the car by himself and you aren't on the reg., then it's his and you can't really take it but you can tell him he has to pay for his own insurance.

That's what my dad would have done if he had caught me...

But don't underestimate the power of having a slow-assed car either... I didn't race much because I knew I would get my ass handed to me and I couldn't handle the embarassment.

 

My nephew was doing same thing (of course I NEVER did anything like that) ahhhm anyway I took him to the Tuesday night street drags at IRP told him how much cooler it was to run there than on the street, made him think it was more exciting etc. dunno if I helped or not but he does go there most weeks now.

 

That's such a tough question. Yeah it's wrong. And yet how many of us have done it?

As stated though, times are different today. Another "back in the day" comparison would be little kids being gone for hours playing wherever and showing up for dinner. I would be gone for hours during the day. You sure can't stand for that these days.

 

Pretty simple, he can't race without a car can he ?

.

 

I grew up in Fremont... about 5 miles from the dragstrip. I was out street racing every weekend in my GTO from about 1977 to 1980. one guy i was racing ran into someone, and once I hit a camaro when I jumped on it in the rain. no one got hurt, no one got sued.

if I had a kid I would tell him if he so much as gets a ticket he loses the car til he's 18. if I caught him street racing I'd take it and sell it even if he paid for it with his own money.

part of being a parent is making sure your kids don't do the same stupid things you did.

 

Thanks for the great responses. I can assure all of you that he is not some wreckless, troubled youth, and I can assure you that I am the man of this house! So that being said, I suppose my reason for this thread was yeah- I do feal like a hypocrite, fuddy duddy etc. Its a weird fucking feeling. Just wondered how you guys have dealt with it. I'm not worried about hurting his feelings. If I have to I'll take the car from him even though he paid for it. I doubt very much that it'll come to that though. He's a good kid, and he will listen to me. - Or I'll choke his ass. -Mike

 

hes Ok.
he Probably Drives The Car Alot & Knows To Look Way Up Ahead.
i Did Alot Of Street Racing With American Muscle Cars That Dont Stop Or Turn Very Good But I Drove Everyday & Could Handle It Great.
you Can Ask The Cops As I Would Put Her Into A Drift & Float Around Corners Like I Was On A Dirt Track On The Gas The Whole Way. I Grew Somewhat Out Of That Eventually.

 

I have the same fuddy duddy hypocrite feeling....maybe I better wake up and deal with the situation, one of my 15 yr old sons might be dangerous like I was at that age.

My kids have old 6 cyl rides, one barrel carbs, etc. The older one never had the need for speed. I don't know what to do about the younger ones, I guess I'll have to be extra strict.