BY JONIQUE GAYNOR, Staff Reporter
PARTYGOERS, PAN CHICKEN vendors and loud, thumping music. This is Knutsford Boulevard by midnight - quite a contrast from the corporate district it is by day, one where executives race up and down the streets.
At night, however, the mood is set for a different kind of race - car racing. An air of competition and adventure surrounds the party zone and fuels the 'need for speed'. The loud revving of powerful engines, the issuing of dares and challenges and the age-old technique of 'talking smack', herald the start of the night's adventures.
Though street racing is illegal in Jamaica, it remains one of the most common pastimes of young males - almost a subculture. At nights, and especially on weekends, the streets of the city come alive with young 'daredevils' pushing their cars to death-defying speeds. The dangers involved are well understood by the racer but, apparently, the thrill compensates for any potential disaster.
Recently, however, the thrill almost proved fatal for the driver of a blue Subaru WRX. As THE STAR made its way to Knutsford Boulevard, the car sped on to Trafalgar Road. The driver failed to negotiate the corner properly, raced on to the median, and slammed into a utility pole. Luckily, he emerged unscathed. The car was not so fortunate. The front end was completely mangled and, though physically unhurt, the driver was visibly shaken.
THE APPEAL
With risks as great as this, plus the possibility of death and arrest, why is drag racing still so appealing to many? Is it an obsession? An addiction? Or simply another step in our unending quest to push technology to the limit?
Swiffy, a car enthusiast, has been racing for five years and says it is neither an addiction nor an obsession. He has spent over $300,000 upgrading his car, making it the "fastest Swift with a licence plate and factory equipment" in Jamaica. It gives him a sense of satisfaction.
When probed about the risks involved, he said, "I always have my car under control and it's crazy people who don't brake that get in trouble. Somebody affi do sumting wrong fi crash. I hear 'bout people drop offa bike, crash and mash up dem car, an' it just slow mi down fi a week, but if you were there, you'd realise that is usually stupidness cause crashes." He says he invested too much in his car to destroy it carelessly. According to Swiffy, the only way racers break the law is when they exceed the speed limit.
"I'm not breaking any law by parking (at the gas station), and I've never been stopped for speeding."
Detective Sergeant Llewelyn from the Constabulary Communications Network, however, says that street racers are breaking several laws. He says they exceed speed limits, breach the Road Traffic Act as well as the Town and Communities Act. According to Llewelyn, the noise that is associated with racing, breaches the latter which bars loud noises audible beyond 100 metres, after certain hours. Because the racers often park in gas stations, the sergeant says there is also the threat of fire, if a car were to lose control and plow into a gas pump. The inconvenience caused to other motorists and the fact that they may injure themselves and others are other concerns.
According to the police, the most commonly used thoroughfares are Hope Road, Knutsford Boulevard and the I-95 in Portmore. When police get wind of the operations they usually try to clamp down by confiscating the cars and issuing court orders. THE STAR was also told that because of the actions of the police, the operations on Hope Road have dwindled. It seems unlikely, however, that the fervour and passion of the racers will dwindle any time soon.
Do
you have a problem? Is something bothering
you? Write to 
