FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 6, 2006
Contact: PAUL PERILLIE, MAJORITY CAUCUS AIDE -- #(631) 854-4500

What a Drag!
Cooper’s Law Permits Seizure and Auction of Illegal Drag Racing Vehicles to Protect Public Safety

Disturbed by the alarming increase in injuries and fatalities resulting from illegal street or “drag” racing on Suffolk roads, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved a bill authored by Majority Leader Jon Cooper (D-Huntington) that is designed to make foolhardy, pedal to the metal-heads pay dearly for their reckless sprints.

Cooper’s resolution will protect unsuspecting residents from becoming casualties in illegal street races by permitting Suffolk County police to seize the vehicles of drag racers. Confiscated vehicles may either be sold at auction or retained for official use by a Suffolk County agency.

Fatal accidents caused by drag racers are becoming an American epidemic. In 2001, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that illegal street racing was listed as a factor in 135 fatal crashes, which was up from 72 street racing-related fatalities in 2000. Current nationwide statistics show that 49 people are injured out of every 1,000 who participate in drag racing. As these numbers continue to rise, they are creating dire consequences here at home.

Last summer, an Elmont woman was killed when her vehicle caught fire after being struck from behind by a car that was drag racing on Hempstead Turnpike. In July, the Southern State Parkway became a tomb for a young couple who authorities say were in a car traveling about 100 miles per hour, on their way home from an illegal drag racing meet that was broken up by police. Yet another fatal accident took place several weeks later on Brush Hollow Road in Westbury, when an elderly woman was killed in a crash caused by a drag racer.

"All of my bills that have dealt with driving treat being behind the wheel as a privilege, not a right," says Cooper. "I can’t imagine anyone who deserves to have that privilege revoked more than a person who completely disregards public safety by purposely treating our public roads as private speedways."