Public Driving Roads - Are They Ever Closed Off to Traffic for Racing?

Professional racers are lucky enough to have access to something known as a temporary street course. Denver, Colo., and Las Vegas, Nev., both have courses like this where portions of the course are literally on the road. When a race comes to town, these public roads are closed down. Unfortunately, street racers aren't given the same luxury.

Street racing has existed in one form or another since at least the 1970s, with illegal drag racing going back even further. In all that time, a number of people have died as the result of an open course. A car veers into the crowd or a pedestrian misses a step and the story finds its way onto the national news. Yet only a few examples can be found where public roads were closed because of racing.

In Crenshaw, Calif., roads were occasionally closed off to keep things safe for the pedestrians watching the race and those involved in the race. Was this a measure taken by the local police? No, this was the result of a volunteer effort by several men who wanted to keep the streets safe during a race. Big Willie Robinson and his volunteers worked together to block off the streets needed for the race. It was never sponsored by government officials, but the roads were closed.

The United States should take a page from Europe, where government officials have learned that taking part in street racing events is easier than trying to stop them. Officials in Lodz, Poland, decided to take part by donating $20,000 worth of equipment for a massive street race. According to the International Herald Tribune, officials in Lodz even closed off one-quarter mile of prime road in the downtown area for the street race. This annual event has been held since 2004.

Auto Racing Daily and The New York Times even picked up the Polish story, pointing out that one out of every eight people who died in a car crash did so on a road in Poland. The government in that country hopes that by closing off the roads and supporting this type of racing, they can make a difference. The difference is that they are breeding a new generation of racer who learns how to drive safely on the streets.

Other countries close off public driving roads for other types of racing, such as charity runs and bicycle races. The same countries will shut down their streets to make way for professional racers in the Indy Car League or the Champ Series. Yet they police the streets late at night hoping to stop the street racers from doing the very same thing.

Street racing was once consider drag racing, but the NHRA successfully found venues to run this type of racing. That led to the kind of racing made popular by movies like "The Fast and The Furious," in which newer cars race illegally on the streets. Now it appears as though these street racers are just waiting for the day when they too will have sanctioning and safe places to race.

Sources:
Steve Parker, "Street Racing Kills-Help Me Stop It" The Huffington Post.
Nicholas Kulish, "Where the Street Racing is Fast and the Police Aren't Furious" International Herald Tribune.