It's a well hidden secret here in the States, but in Eastern Europe, Poland is a street racing Mecca. Concrete contests of speed are so prevalent in the land of the prior Pope and origin of the pirogi, that police in Lodz are conceding certain streets to rebellious racers. The goal is to concentrate racing to a speed limit-free zone, with hopes that racing-related accidents will plummet in other areas of town. Both police and the Lodz motor club will supervise the action on closed streets to ensure that complete lawlessness doesn't commence.
It seems everybody wins thanks to this unorthodox solution, with dragsters getting a place to hang and innocent drivers and bystanders having a better chance of not becoming collateral damage, like what happened last week in Maryland. Such a compromise would never happen in the US, however, as police (and insurance companies) would sooner take your license than leave speed limits to the ego of the driver and power of the car.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
FThorn @ Feb 26th 2008 9:35AM
Sounds like a very forward-thinking country and people. I recall FREEZING to death in downtown Chicago when Lech Walesa(SP?) came and spoke.
Of course, NOT ON MY STREET will that happen! :)
FSM @ Feb 26th 2008 9:48AM
So when will they open up a section of road where road rage can be escalated to physical violence without police interference? Thats what I'm waiting for.
Jason Bird @ Feb 26th 2008 9:57AM
Nothing bad can come of this...gee, I wonder which neighborhoods they will impose this on? I'm certain that they wont be running in front of the Mayor's house.
Andrew @ Feb 26th 2008 10:00AM
Hey, nicely written. You should be writing more of these postings in place of some of the regulars.
Menice @ Feb 26th 2008 10:26AM
the roads are probably isolated.
i think this will probably work out, but only in their instance.
I can not see this ever working here in the USA.
besides insurance companies flipping,
marketers would muck it all up, find a way charge people, sell ad space, have roads named after companies sponsering racers, ect.
capitalism and greed would ruin this idea here.
over in poland it will just centralize the accidents for the police.
Aprime @ Feb 26th 2008 10:36AM
Poland is now to racers what Holland is to junkies.
FThorn @ Feb 26th 2008 10:51AM
well, I recall the NO SPEED LIMIT Montana.
Dustin @ Feb 26th 2008 11:50AM
That is no longer the case here. But there still was a speed limit then. Just not defined by a number. More of a common sense speed limit. Wish the entire world could work that way. More common sense, less stupidity.
kal326 @ Feb 26th 2008 10:36AM
And people wonder where all those polack jokes come from...
SPG @ Feb 26th 2008 3:21PM
Those still just come from rednecks.
hashiryu @ Feb 26th 2008 10:41AM
Ummm people, the Article said, and i quote "The goal is to concentrate racing to a speed limit-free zone, with hopes that racing-related accidents will plummet in other areas of town" ...
In which neighbourhoods are there speed-limit free zones? Obviously this is going to be in a more isolated are..... 'tards.
I think this is a sensible move.
NeoteriX @ Feb 26th 2008 10:56AM
And how is this any different than forcing people here to take it to the race track/drag strip to get their racing on? Both are legally sanctioned places for racing to occur.
Joshua @ Feb 26th 2008 11:01AM
In many cases, tracks are inconvenient to get to, and very pricey if there aren't many participants to share costs with. I have to hand it to the Polish for doing something that actually makes sense. North America could learn so many things from other countries.
NeoteriX @ Feb 26th 2008 11:09AM
Still, the same end result pans out:
a) Inconvenience: The police are going to ostensibly choose some remote, isolated stretch of road because they don't want to incur liability from homeowners upset at the dimunition of property value by having loud cars whiz by in the middle of the night and teens and young adults roaming about. Such a location would hypothetically be just as inconvenient to get to.
b) Costs: You're not paying for admission, but instead you're spreading out the increased costs of police enforcement, road maintenance, etc. to the rest of the population in terms of tax expenditures. So instead of personally incurring the costs of an activity that an individual does, they are forcing the rest of society to absorb it.
c) Liability: Racing under controlled circumstances is still inherently risky and dangerous... So when someone inevitably wrecks, will the government be liable for sanctioning this risky endeavor? Will the rest of society bear these additional costs? Will insurance even cover such a thing? Who will the insurance go after?
Tell me how "smart" this idea is now?
JayP @ Feb 26th 2008 11:05AM
How fast can those old eastern-bloc cars go anyway?
PU @ Feb 26th 2008 2:33PM
Jay, have you ever been there?! old eastern bloc cars?? funny, I spent over a week in Poland last summer, travelled across 3 big cities and seen maybe 2 or 3 of those cars. And plenty of new premium sedans, tiny hatches, and european SUVs. And none of those police cars from the pic above.
I bet you also think, there is snow all the time and tanks on the streets?
JayP @ Feb 26th 2008 3:29PM
It's a joke... get over it, world traveler.
Dinger @ Feb 26th 2008 12:24PM
Cities in the US provide public parks for football, jogging, soccer, baseball, basketball, staking, etc.
There are even municipal golf courses allowing those who can't afford pricey memberships to play a round for a very low price.
Why not racing?
I think there is a great idea in this move.
VMP @ Feb 26th 2008 4:54PM
I agree with Dinger. In areas where Street racing is Problematic creating a low price public venue could be viable for people who want to put their cars at risk and run a hot lap or 2 or drag race. The City or providers of said venue would have to disclaimer their rears off and have each person who participates sign a legally binding waiver so they cannot be sued. its up to the driver (as it always should be) to ensure his own safety and insurance.
FThorn @ Feb 26th 2008 1:42PM
I think that's sound arguments there. But liability is big. Plus the greenies will scream something, even though doing so will emit a large carbon mouthprint.