The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1956-06-01
DRAG RACING SEEN
GROWING PROBLEM
M NORTH CAROLINA
Hot Roddine Develops Appetite
For Dangerous Driving By
FooIhardy People

Raleigh.-As incredible as il
sounds there are public roads in
North Carolina where speeding
cars - two abreast - may come
hurting out of the darkness at you
at 100 miles an hour.
If you manage to escape, then
you're q survivor Of drag racing,
a maniacal sport" rapidly achiev-
ing notoriety in dozens of commu-
mites throughout the state.
It's happening not only on the
back roads, but increasingly so on
mainline thoroughfares. Mostly
teenagers-who haven't the stom-
ach for professional racing-stage
the mad sprints in defiance Of the
law and all common sense.
Such illegal racing already has
resulted in 81 deaths since last
October estimates Highway Patrol
Major D. 7. Lambert, who is
watching the problem with eagle
eyed vigilance.
According to information gather
ed by the State Highway Patrol
the races are anything but casual.
Most of those reported in the past
few months are semi-organized at
fairs with ring-leaders who issue
periodic challenges to others with
the racing fever. The challenges
are seldom ignored and plans are
drawn up for a race.
State troopers, especially in the
Piedmont area, say that groups of
II to Is or more may engage in
the race when it comes off. They
wheel up to a pre-selected spot in
powerful, late model cars. dispatch
scout cars to decoy officers, and
sometimes barricade roads ada
cent to the racing site. Spectators,
often numbering in the hundreds,
join in the fun with side wagers
on the contestants.
Two or more cars line up side
by side in the road. At a signal
they accelerate fiercely enough to
mar the black top and a half-mile
away may be hitting 80 miles an
hour.
An innocent motorist happening
along can take to the fields to
escape death-if he's quick enough,
of course.
Recurring complaints from COM
munities plagued with the drag
ging menace have stirred up plans
for tighter legislation to be recon-
mended to the General Assembly.
Already a misdemeanor, high
way racing will become a felony
if proposals of the Motor Vehicles
Department are successful. We
hicles commissioner Ed Scheidt
said highway racing has grown
increasingly critical since 1850, al
most paralleling the manufactur-
ers' race toward higher and higher
horsepower.
While the State Highway Patrol
has not been accused Of any lax
ity, troopers are quick to admit
that apprehending speeders is
something less than a cinch with
distinctively marked cars.
Last years legislators ordered
the patrol to withdraw its fleet
Of blue and green and black cars
which were able to mingle with
traffic undetected. Since then pa
troll cars appear on the road in
black-and-silver combination, set
off by a roof-mounted red light
! which stamps them police cars at
a glance.
Returning unmarked cars to the
roads is another traffic safety
measure to be proposed by the
vehicles agency.
Meanwhile, the department also
takes a dim view Of even sanction
ed races, the kind run on safety
supervised tracks. Authorities rea-
son that such high speed excite
ment "seeps down" to spectators,
some of whom feel compelled to
leave the track in a burst Of speed
which is continued on the highway.
Only recently a part-time profess
/ sional racer led highway patrol
man on q 100 mile an hour chase
that ended only when both cars
were wrecked.
Teen ayers and adolescent-min
ed adults, authorities feel, too
often emulate the pros with race
track driving on the highway.
Patrol sergeant Bill Baxter Of
Durham estimates that highway
speeding arrests increase three
fold following professional races,
which are weekly events in many
communities.
Despite fairly stiff fines and
the threat of losing their drivers
license most drag racers can't see
the light-until perhaps an acci-
dent lays them low. Even then
some return to the highways un-
chastened.
A 20 year old Wake County
youth recently crashed into tree
at high speed, injuring himself