Youth and Street Racing

In terms of its perceived threat to society, street racing seems to have fallen somewhere between regular traffic offences and car theft. Yet it has little in common with either. So far as I am aware, street racing has not been analysed by previous writers. Thus, not surprisingly, most theories have little to offer such an analysis. The key argument made in this article is that the norms of street racers are those of the dominant culture. A desire to race stems from the symbolic power of masculinity, cars and motor sport. When this desire is blocked by an absence of legal racing venues, young men instead turn to racing on the street. Introduction In terms of its perceived threat to society, street racing seems to have fallen somewhere between regular traffic offences and car theft. Yet it has little in common with either. Conducting illegal races is a phenomenon as old as the car itself. Yet it is also poorly understood by the general public, the media and even by some criminologists. Its highly organised nature, and the mystique which surrounds the night races have led many to overrate the degree of crossover between street racing and other crimes. In rea lity, there seems to be little difference between street racers and spectators at organised racing events. The framework within which street racing will be analysed is that of juvenile crime. From my research, it appears that the average street racer is aged in his or her earlytwenties. Although this is probably beyond what most criminologists would define as 'juvenile', this article has placed street racers in the juvenile crime context for three reasons: i) Street racers are, if not juvenile, certainly young. The vast majority are aged between 16 and 25. ii) They share many of the features of youth gangs, in their social exclusivity and territoriality iii) Street racing is a transitory activity. Most people do not continue to race for more than 2-3 years This article will first explain the phenomenon of street racing, before discussing it in a theoretical context. Methodology This article arose from a series of interviews which I conducted over a three-week period with various street racers. During that time, I followed what I believe is the major street racing group in Sydney, and attended several illegal races and one legal race meeting. The illegal races were held in Lidcombe, Homebush, Hoxton Park,