The horrific accident that happened on the N1, where a man lost control of his car while street racing, has thrown the illegal sport into the spotlight.

Following this incident, Mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, said the City of Cape Town would be cracking down on illegal street racing in an attempt to make the streets safer for everyone.

The investigation has uncovered areas where street racing is most prominent, ranging from leafy suburbs through to low-income areas.

News24 created an interactive map of these hotspots. You can click and drag below to move around the map, and zoom in on any areas of particular interest to you:

While some prefer the dark seclusion of the West Coast roads, others are racing right in the heart of suburbia.

Street racing is highly coordinated, Smith told News24. Messaging applications are used to set up gatherings and Traffic Services’ Ghost Squad then become involved in a wasteful cat and mouse game where a few racers are arrested “here and there”.

The areas in and around Parklands are popular spots, probably due to the long, straight stretches of road that pass through them.

The following maps are close-ups of areas where there is a high concentration of street racing hotspots:

As each weekend approaches, it becomes quite busy. Gatherings are often moved around to avoid being shut down by enforcement agencies, and usually occur from Wednesday to Sunday.

Apart from the recklessness of street racing, residents in areas where the events take place have complained about noise, anti-social behaviour and substance abuse.

Back in 2016, robot racing was introduced at Killarney Raceway in collaboration with the City of Cape Town, in a bid to provide racers with an alternative, but racers say that the strip is too short and the fees are too high.

The bottom line is that the ‘sport’ is illegal for a reason.

Street racers put themselves, other racers and innocent motorists at risk, Smith maintained.

“You roll the dice with other people lives. That’s not your privilege or choice to make.”

Truth.

[source:news24]