My grip on the steering wheel tightened. As I slammed down on the accelerator, my brother asked me “What’s going on over there?” A moment earlier, I had noticed the group of people down the road and how their cars were parked. I knew I had better get my little brother the hell out of there.
I’ve known guys who street race. Not all of them were arrogant or cocky, they just knew they wanted to go fast and thought they would be good at it. And so they went fast.
Most times, street racing isn’t like what you see in The Fast and the Furious. It’s just a bunch of friends who dare each other to do something they know could be dangerous if they’re unlucky, but really fun otherwise. They find an empty stretch of road, usually a highway at two a.m., set up their cars, and gun the engine. The guys I know never got into any serious accidents, but I remember times in senior year where they spent a month or two without a car because they got “a few dents.”
Back in Costa Rica, whenever I noticed street racing going on nearby, I did my best to get out of the area as fast as possible, especially if things hadn’t started yet. I got out of there because many times when they’re excited, street racers will notice other cars near them and think that maybe these people want to race too, and they challenge you. Some of the crazier ones don’t like it when you say no. So I tried to avoid the situation completely. The best tactic when they came up behind, weaving in and out of traffic, was to maintain speed and not change lanes.
Some people say that there’s nothing wrong with racing when no one else is on the road, especially if it’s a drag race. This is like saying a flame is beautiful, but a large fire would be even more stunning. Then you burn the house down and you’re fucked. So I never raced, and did my best not to expose my little brother to it.
Most street racers are good guys, with a good sense of humour. Lots of times they are good at sports, they are easy to like, and they are leaders among their group of friends. A street racer is the guy or girl you trust because they’ve gotten you out of shit before, or because you’ve done something crazy and fun with them and gotten away with it. But the thing is, when you do something daring and fast-paced, luck likes to have her say. And the thing with luck is it tends to be unfair. So when it comes down to something really important—like people’s lives—I wouldn’t put much faith in it.
