taken from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/arti...248256,00.html
(continues @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/arti...248256,00.html)
Saturday night is right for dicing with death as 'Fast and Furious' films inspire Essex youth to duel on public roads
Tony Thompson
Sunday June 27, 2004
The Observer
The race is on. Jeff hits a straight section of the A127 and guns the engine of his Toyota. He's up to 115mph in seconds, tyres squealing as he skilfully weaves in and out of slower traffic all around him.
Rival Craig's souped-up Peugeot is gaining fast, and it flashes past Jeff as though he's standing still before screeching to a halt half a mile ahead when a battered Transit van fails to get out of the way in time. 'That's one seriously fast car,' says Jeff. 'He must have been doing at least 140 when he came past.'
It's 8pm on a Saturday and scores of extreme car enthusiasts, known as modders or cruisers, are heading for Southend in Essex in a series of convoys. Their highly tuned vehicles represent the sharp end of the £3-billion-a-year car modification industry. They are also a growing headache for police who say the cruise scene is closely linked to the fast-growing, potentially deadly street racing subculture.
Six people died and 113 were seriously injured in crashes linked to cruising and street racing in Essex in 2002, the last year for which figures are available. Police say the vast majority of the cruisers' cars travel at more than 100 mph on Saturday nights on the A127 road, which links London and the resort. One of them was clocked at 134mph earlier this year.
Measures taken by the Essex force, including high-profile patrols and threats to seize vehicles involved in racing or dangerous driving, have done little to stop the rapid growth of the cruising and racing scene.
'It used to be an elite thing,' says Jeff, 'but now you go and there are people all over the place. Too many people have found out about it, and to my mind that's making it much more dangerous.'
The numbers involved have been boosted particularly by more women getting involved in the scene.
'I'm just a normal girl. I like my shopping and I love getting my nails done but I like fast cars as well,' says Nicki, 22, a bank clerk and self-confessed car nut who heads for Southend most Saturday nights.
'Some of the cars here are modified for show, some of them are modified for go. I'm not really into the body styling side of things. I'm more into horsepower.'
She is not alone. While such magazines as Max Power and Fast Car tend to portray women as sex objects, more of them are turning up behind the wheel of modified cars.....
Tony Thompson
Sunday June 27, 2004
The Observer
The race is on. Jeff hits a straight section of the A127 and guns the engine of his Toyota. He's up to 115mph in seconds, tyres squealing as he skilfully weaves in and out of slower traffic all around him.
Rival Craig's souped-up Peugeot is gaining fast, and it flashes past Jeff as though he's standing still before screeching to a halt half a mile ahead when a battered Transit van fails to get out of the way in time. 'That's one seriously fast car,' says Jeff. 'He must have been doing at least 140 when he came past.'
It's 8pm on a Saturday and scores of extreme car enthusiasts, known as modders or cruisers, are heading for Southend in Essex in a series of convoys. Their highly tuned vehicles represent the sharp end of the £3-billion-a-year car modification industry. They are also a growing headache for police who say the cruise scene is closely linked to the fast-growing, potentially deadly street racing subculture.
Six people died and 113 were seriously injured in crashes linked to cruising and street racing in Essex in 2002, the last year for which figures are available. Police say the vast majority of the cruisers' cars travel at more than 100 mph on Saturday nights on the A127 road, which links London and the resort. One of them was clocked at 134mph earlier this year.
Measures taken by the Essex force, including high-profile patrols and threats to seize vehicles involved in racing or dangerous driving, have done little to stop the rapid growth of the cruising and racing scene.
'It used to be an elite thing,' says Jeff, 'but now you go and there are people all over the place. Too many people have found out about it, and to my mind that's making it much more dangerous.'
The numbers involved have been boosted particularly by more women getting involved in the scene.
'I'm just a normal girl. I like my shopping and I love getting my nails done but I like fast cars as well,' says Nicki, 22, a bank clerk and self-confessed car nut who heads for Southend most Saturday nights.
'Some of the cars here are modified for show, some of them are modified for go. I'm not really into the body styling side of things. I'm more into horsepower.'
She is not alone. While such magazines as Max Power and Fast Car tend to portray women as sex objects, more of them are turning up behind the wheel of modified cars.....
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