A while back I played a video game called Burnout on the Playstation 2. The idea was simple: For some reason there were crazy people in the world who decided to have full-scale racing events on highways crowded with traffic. No matter how hard they crashed, infinite clones were able to take their place and crash some more, as long as the car survived. Now, I thought that this was fairly crazy in its own right, but imagine my surprise when I realized that not only street racing but traffic street racing actually existed. Truth is always stranger than fiction.

First-Person Traffic Weaving

This video really gives you an idea of what it feels like to be in the driver’s seat of a street racing vehicle. This is partly because it is filmed from the driver’s seat, but that is beside the point. The blue car in front is our contender in this video, very slightly pushing ahead of us at every turn, but we never miss a beat. No matter how slow the traffic gets, we still manage to dodge our impending doom by weaving in and out of cars, trucks, and tractor-trailers, and the chase only ends when we seem to run out of tape. What a shame.

Burning Up the Streets of Japan

Our previous video came from Russia, and this video comes from Japan. I don’t know what it is, but people from other countries seem to have much cooler racing events. Either that, or they have some sort increased abandon for their own personal safety (read: death wish). These guys are tearing up the road at night, but even they have to dodge in and out of traffic on the local highways. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see a crash, but we do get to see some awesome pro racing moves.

Racing After Dark

It’s pretty common practice to stage a street race after dark. There is less traffic, fewer police, and overall less of an all-knowing eye watching your every move. That didn’t prevent a couple run-ins these guys had with local traffic. However, the real clincher is that these guys had people hanging out of their windows filming their race. A great idea in theory, but unfortunately none of the racers seemed to know a thing about wind resistance, which actually tended to make the filmers come in last. What a drag. Get it? It was funnier in my head.

It’s Why You Watch the Race

Let’s face it, guys, why do you go to pro races? Mostly for the chance of a car crash right? So why do you go to street races? Racing fans would say for the inherent danger of street racing, but what does that danger lead to? Another car crash! So let’s cut right to the chase. These street racing fans got instant gratification by getting a crash only a few seconds out of the starting gate. Now, if only all races could be like this.

Related posts on 30ninjas.com:

• Burning Up the Streets of Japan
• Burnout 3 Gameplay Trailer
• Patrick Dempsey Races to the Big Screen
• Racing After Dark
• The Perils of Traffic
• Elements of a Kick-Ass Car Chase – Matrix Crash