Well, I think most of us already felt the tension and gridlock of that really bad accident yesterday/early morning. The accident happened on H-1 ewabound just past the Pearl City on ramp and traffic was snarled for miles. Possibility of 2 cars racing on the freeway in both directions on H-1.

A man was sitting on the rear end of a flatbed truck laying cones down for the zipper lane while these 2 cars came roaring behind him and smashed into the rear causing an intense fire to erupt. 4 died and 2 severly injured. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar.../ln/ln07a.html

My condolences to the families of their loved ones.

On a serious note to all, please be careful. Speed kills!! Be safe out there. With all these traffic fatalities due to racing, its not worth it at all. Keep it at the tracks!

 

Such a tragic event.

Weren't the two racers military soldiers from Schofield? Or were the cars just registered to two soldiers?

 

So 2 cars raced again? If so, when are they ever gonna learn... to race their cars on the 1/4 mile track or somewhere else. I actually feel sorry for the guy who died on the truck, not for the 2 stupid *** racers trying to kill someone else.

I'm sorry I just had to say that.

Chris

 

Wow...That's terrible...I feel really sorry for the highway workers and the ems personel that had to extricate the bodies out of the cars...That stays with you for the rest of your life.

 

actually, there were no real bodies. news said they were all burned beyond recognition and couldn't even tell if they were male or female

g35.coupe.6mt.blk.blk.injen.tein.

 

The news just anounced some stunning stats. In the past 8 days there has been an accident everyday, totaling 18 deaths among the Hawaiian islands. Lets all be very careful out there.

 

Just to rock the boat here a little. Mind you, I really feel for all of the families that have been affected by accidents and deaths racing related, but at the same time,..on a side note, here are my thoughts.

Do you remember not too long ago the State had been involved in shutting down the development of a larger track somewhere in Kapolei? They were supposed to create a 1/4 mile track, a dirt track, and a closed course track all in the same facility. Well,...if I am not mistaken there were some money issues but in general the state and public did not support the project.

Now fast forward a little. Here are all these kids racing on the streets creating a major issue for the rest of us. Just imagine, if for one moment you get caught doing 20 over and you lose your license on the first offense. Anyhow, the point is what is the real problem here in regards to these kids on the streets. Creating another department to patrol the streets might be an idea,..but who will be paying for all of the support. We will. Also, will it really stop the racing on the streets?? Also, if there is no outlet for these kids,..how can you really stop these events from happening?

My thoughts are why dont they finish that proposed track. I think that the kids like to race on the streets for the thrill of "avoiding" things and the such. It is not just going fast in a straight line. Everyone says "take it to the tracks",....but to be quite honest,...there is only so many times that you can go speeding down a quarter mile track. Yes, there are the SCCA events as well, but they are so far apart from one event to another. Also, the tracks that we have kinda needs a little work. The roads are poorly maintained and funding looks to be needed. Looking at the other tracks that are available on the mainland, we are a little behind. Granted, there are worse, but, if the State were to support the remodeling, I am sure that the improvement would be quite a difference.

Mainly the point that I am venting is by adding more police and another department to patrol the streets needs funding. Who will be the pool for the funds? Yet, the public in general does not want taxes to increase, then is this the real solution or another crappy patch job? Are we really solving and targeting the problem at hand by just adding more laws and enforcements? If you are going to increase the patrols and increase the penalties, then why should we have tuner stores? There are not enough places available often enough to have these kids release that type of need for speed. Why even modify the car for that purpose, or even bring in cars that are more capable than the average commuter car?

Something else needs to be addressed versus just making the laws stricter and making the penalties more severe. I agree with the need to make the streets safer,..but at the same time, there needs to be a better place or a controlled environment to participate in these types of activities. If you build a facility then charge a small amount with that money going back into the State funds, that could create a revenue for the state and getting these kids off the streets and into a controlled and monitored environment.

Just thoughts...........in wondering what is the "real" issue and will the soon to be coming "fix" be the right one or just to placate the public opinion that all imports are racers and hazardous to the public.

We pay the Board members of UH, the athletic directors, the judges, the state officials, and other people in political power positions, unreal amounts of money, some of them more in one year than most will make in a lifetime. Why cant some monies be appropriated to make the streets or any other place a little safer for our own kids, nephews, nieces, parents, and grandparents? Rather than just making another law to enforce and regulate, why not look at what is the root of the problem. Is it really because a version of the law is lacking?

*sigh* Just my thoughts,..sorry more than 2 cents I think.

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by XLR8SN on 02/18/04 10:45 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

Dont you just wish, any wish, for one day you could be..........

Your point makes a lot of sense. Yet, not to be biased on the situation, safety is a big concern on public roadways. Not only speeding is an issue, another is alcohol. Yeah, alcohol is another factor to speeding. How will any of this be resolved? Never!! Everyone has their difference of opinions. Pros and cons alike.

Yet, I feel youre the responsible person behind the wheel and you make decisions. It all comes down to that final choice. You chose your own fate.

 

*sigh* I understand,...yet it is those individual choices that will impact us all in some form or another at some point in time.

Everyone just needs to be more responsible and be aware of the implications of their individual choices.

 

It's difficult to support funding for any project when you are unable to forsee the returns. Having a track out in Kapolei would probably be an excellent outlet for many speed freaks to let loose under a somewhat controlled environment. However, it would be quite difficult to positively prove that providing a legal channel for individuals to race their vehicles would ultimately reduce street racing. And you're right, that 1/4 mile strip is only fun a few times...that's about it.

I won't claim to have the answers, cuz I'm just one man. Still, I think education and media are two very powerful tools at our disposal. I didn't realize just how powerful these mediums were until recent movements to fight methamphetamine use popped onto my television in recent months. That, combined with the schools and communities getting involved and sign waving and such. Powerful stuff...and it's movements such as these that get politicians involved, not necessarily because they give a rats a$$, but because they know if they wanna get re-elected, they better get on this bandwagon and ride the wave on home. That's the only reason why they're fighting so hard to pass this BS speeding bill that was way too rushed and will untimately **** people off...just like the van cams. I'm all for severe punishments for speeding, but c'mon...this bill is a little ridiculous. And how about punishing the parents who provide their high school kids with the cars and let the kids turn them into racers? A lot of parents have WAY too much faith in their kids.

Anyway, I am definately feelin you bro. Something's gotta be done. I think communities and the media need to come together on this one. I saw that there's a guy in Pearl City who bought his own speed gun to track speeding on his street. I know that in Foster Village, there's an old man who sits on his porch every morning and afternoon, writing down the license plates of cars that speed by. I don't know what they do with this info, but I think they give it to the cops in hopes that more attention will be given to those areas. I'm not saying that it's the most effective means of speed reduction, but it's a start.

Ok, that's my $.02 plus change...

- NICNoobie

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On my way to work this morning, I counted 6 HPD officers on H-1/Nimitz. 3 above the Pearl City onramp heading to town, 2 solo bikes on Nimitz before the Zipper house, and a Sheriff at Elliott street near the Federal prison.

Definitely, a larger presence being felt by HPD and state.

 

just get rid of the speed limits on the freeways, then there wouldn't be speeding just everyone drivign fast. but what should be done is having the police out every night and driviing around the high speed areas. driving home everyday and night, after a certain point you know where to speed and where not to speed. for some reason where all the accidents happen there are never any cops there. i just think hpd needs to find a new project manager where to place cops and how to have them distributed evenly to watch over the whole state. with such a small state how can we not have enough police officers. it doesn't make any sense, and how can we be understaffed, if you go by the nations averge of police officers per person or by per sq mile we don't have much miles or people to cover. someone one out there is pocketing all the money

 

i heard on the radio the other day that they arrested a few more for racing and that one of those guys was racing an unmarked police car. i thought that was hella funny. Is that story true or did i hear wrong?

 

Yupz; it was funny. I think the cop forgot to turn on his blue lights or did it in purpose to have a good story. ...Oh well, good report "KHON2"!

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