TedH

I just received a personal email from Representative Davis thanking me for raising a few points on this. It was not a canned email. I think he actually cares about the impact this can have on the automotive enthusiasts in his district and will work to implement policies that will protect automotive enthusiasts as well as the community.

Thank you for the email links.

Mikie

Very Good read!

Raptor1

It's obvious that you are doing some positive things with this. Regardless of whether or not I agree with your approach 100%, keep up the good work!

Chris 96 WS6

TNTHUB why don't you share your points here, maybe if we all took a few minutes to email our state reps we could have a big impact on potential legislation.

TedH

I know not everyone agrees with me but I do think it is important to separate "drag racing" from "street racing" in from the perspective of the general public. I believe it will be less costly in terms of taxpayer dollars and in the risk to lives to make the distinction at this level rather than try to educate the public as to the difference between legal and illegal drag racing.

Personally, it doesn't matter to me if someone has a nitrous bottle hooked up or not as long as they only use it at the track but from the reality of enforcement I believe it must be physically disconnected.

No legislation will correct all the situations and problems that will arise, and there will still be folks who street race and there will still be police who hassle people. However by clearly defining the rules hopefully all the participants will understand the risks and benefits of their decisions.

In a perfect world, the automotive community would be supporting legal and safe use of aftermarket products. However the world is not perfect and people on both sides of this potential bill have their own reasons for their opinions.

The best way that I can think of to bring both sides into agreement is to begin a process of education and understanding to all parties. A small part of that process is the wording of the bill itself which should perform the task it is intended while minimizing the adversarial positions of the supporters/detractors.

The reason I took the time to write is becasue I believe all our states can do a better job of making the streets safer and can do a better job of reducing emmisions, while allowing car enthusiasts the fredom to modify their vehicles.

Heck, adding headers and cold air to most cars will increase gas mileage, why not encourage these modifications?

My email went as follows (I wanted to keep it short so he would read it):

Rep. Davis,

Please revise the wording of the proposed “drag racing” bill to more accurately reflect the problem your community is attempting to solve through this legislation. The problem is “Street Racing”, not drag racing, which is the largest participant motor sport in the world. Drag Racing became a sport over 50 years ago to help reduce Street Racing. By allowing the words “Drag Racing” in even the social context of the proposed legislation creates a black eye for the safest of all motor sports.

Lives can be saved by targeting illegal Street Racing and helping the parents of teenagers understand that the sanctioned drag strips in your area are the appropriate place to go instead of the stoplights of an old industrial park.

In regards to Nitrous, it has no business being active while on a public way, although the ability of people to drive their cars (with it unhooked), should be protected. Additionally, high penalties for illegal use of nitrous and street racing will act as a determent and make your streets safer. And yes, I am a drag racer.

Thank you,

LWillmann

I agree with you. I personally don't have a problem with the use of nitrous on a public street being illegal, but I should be allowed to transport the bottle as long as it's not connected.

KWKSLVR

Was this passed on Jan 1st?

Loadre

Not that I know of it wasn't.

gearhead3

tnthub,Well done! What I fail to understand is this crackdown on nitrous. Its ok to operate a 1000HP NA or blown vehicle on the road but take a 300HP camaro with a 100 shot and it is ilegal. The nitrous is only dangerous when its in operation. But the 1000 HP NA or Blown vehicle the potential is always there for trouble or danger to others drivers. My opinion is that nitrous is only the starting piont and is already stepping over the line. I do agree that strict street racing laws be enforced. I'm much more concerned about the people on their cell phones than the people with their nitrous bottle connected or blower. Most of the street racing accidents in our area are un modified cars with young drivers. I have not yet heard of a fatality caused by nitrous oxide but have heard of many due to cell phones.

Loadre

No kidding, one of my points was, "Is it normal practice to "fix" laws that aren't broken?" (ie - outlawing nitrous when it's not even a problem.)

TedH

I agree, but politics and reality are oftenvery different things. I would further add that blamimng a cell phone for being a dustracted driver is simply wrong in my opinion. Between the stereos, passengers, car seats, and often a coffee cup or a donut, or the temptation to comb hair or put on makeup, or a cb radio, or whatever there are temptations in almost every street vehicle. It is in my opinion the drivers responsibility to operate that vehicle safely and that would encompass having the good judgement to know when it is ok to do something other than focus on driving.

In Maine we tend to blame accidents on bad weather this time of year rather than on the driver who decided to drive too fast on an icy road. I guess personal responsibility is something of the past nowadays.

LWillmann

I was told this morning, that the nitrous part of the bill was removed.

The main part of the bill is that if you kill someone while street racing, it's roughly triple the punishment.

Also, if you have nitrous in the car, but the switch is off, they can't ticket you for it.

I believe that this bill passed Friday or Saturday, with the nitrous part removed.

TedH

Awesome.

I have had my hands full up here as our Maine legislature was attempting to push through a bill to outlaw the use of aftermarket tires unless they exeeded the fuel economy ratings of the "stock" tires on a vehicle.

We also had a similiar nitrous issue and managed to allow nitrous in a vehicle as long as it is disconnected while on the street, so people can drive to the track and back with it without being hassled.

I also just did some work with our state Director of Energy as she represents the group that poses a very large threat to the performance industry so instead of being upset with her actions we decided to take a pro-active approach and educate her on th benefits the automotive aftermarket can provide in regards to improving fuel economy.

My major contribution was my contention that driving habits can have as much, if not more of an effect on economy than any legislation they can pass and it was written up as a front page story that came out in this Sunday's newspaper: Newspaper Article Link