When it comes to illegal street racing, officials in San Diego are refusing to take a backseat.
The city is putting the brakes on dangerous and deadly drag races taking place on public streets by using some unconventional tactics. Their novel approach combines tough laws and enforcement while simultaneously providing a safe and legal racing venue as an alternative.
Last year, 16 people were killed and 31 others injured as a result of illegal speed contests in and around San Diego, according to Stephen Bender, a professor of public health at San Diego State University.
Bender started tracking illegal racing fatalities more than five years ago, and, as a result, has created RaceLegal.com — a 1/8th mile race track inside the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot. The course is open on Friday nights when no sporting event is taking place within the venue.
Interest in Bender’s races has dramatically increased as a result of the city’s hard line tactics to get racers off the streets.
The San Diego Police Department has created a special unit called Drag Net, a team of detectives who work undercover and, among other things, videotape illegal races to gather evidence for future arrests.
The city attorney has also assigned a prosecutor whose responsibilities include handling all charges stemming from illegal racing — including penalties for the spectators of illegal races.
San Diego’s crackdown has drawn national and international attention. The Drag Net team is now training other law enforcement agencies while RaceLegal.com is preparing a how-to manual for other cities considering safe alternatives for racers. During race legal’s nearly 200 nights of operation, with more than 1,200 races on an average night, only four cars have crashed and no participant has died.
The success of their combined efforts has even spurred the city to consider sites for the construction of a permanent racetrack, a move that the parent of a teenager killed in an illegal drag race considers an important part of the solution.
To contact San Diego’s RaceLegal.com by telephone, please call (619) 265-8159.
Update November 30, 2006
Since 2004, San Diego has not had a single traffic fatality from illegal drag racing. The DragNet program continues in San Diego and has been picked up by communities throughout California, including Fresno, Irwindale, Ontario, Oakland, Riverside, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, and Stockton. All these are communities that have growing or existing problems with drag racing.
RaceLegal continues to sponsor races in San Diego. They are focusing on getting the necessary sponsorship to continue the program.
Public Health Professor Steven Bender, who started the RaceLegal progam, has retired and moved to Santa Fe.