The Macau Grand Prix is one of the fastest and most furious racing events in the world. It’s held every year and it’s the only street circuit racing event in which both car and motorcycle races are held. Previous winners include Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard. Yet, the Macau Grand Prix isn’t the most dangerous racing event that occurs in this region, says Macau Daily Times journalist Sum Choi.
Every night on the streets of Hong Kong, drivers wait for their chance to get involved in an illegal, high speed street race. Hong Kong citizens with modified cars line up on the narrow city back streets and challenge one another to automotive duels, says NewYorkDailyNews.com. These street races are usually spontaneous – drivers who want to participate tend to wait for other competitors in areas that are known for the illegal sport. When another modified car pulls up next to theirs, these drivers know that the race is on.
Whilst it might sound glamorous and exciting to an outsider, it’s important to realise that illegal street racing has the potential to ruin lives. Though competitors do choose to race in the early hours of the morning, that doesn’t mean that innocent drivers cannot get caught up in the game. Hong Kong cops may very well deny that there have been any deaths as a result of illegal street racing, but surely it’s just a matter of time.
The police in Hong Kong must be afraid of the eventual consequences, because they have spent huge amounts of money and time on tracking and shutting down these street races. It’s no easy feat – competitors seem to be getting better at evading police all the time. They keep races very secret and have largely stopped the big, ostentatious events that have made films like Fast & Furious so famous. Catching these criminals is extremely difficult, because the networks that they move in are very vast and complicated.
For example, illegal street racing is very closely linked to the gambling industry. Many of the expensive, modified vehicles involved in the races have been used by gamblers as capital to pay off big debts. These suddenly impoverished gamblers sell their sports cars to the people that they owe. Those people take these cars and enter them into illegal street races before selling them to settle the debt. It’s a very murky business and it means that a lot of the cars being raced don’t have the proper insurance documents.
Illegal street racing in Hong Kong isn’t just reserved for modified vehicles and expensive sports cars. Precisely because so many gambling debts are settled in this manner – police often see SUVs, sedans and MPVs being raced along the city streets. These cars aren’t made for racing and are extremely dangerous when travelling at high speeds, say the experts at GulfNews.com. It doesn’t how excellent a driver you think that you are, anything can happen when you’re travelling at the speeds regularly used by Hong Kong’s illegal drivers.
It’s not only the police that have been looking for direct asia shake up insurance in Hong Kong but the car insurance industry is slowly changing, too. Owning a car has always been a rather expensive venture in mainland Asia and many companies are trying to make things easier for legitimate drivers. If only the wealthy can afford to drive, it’s a lot more likely that they’re going to want to flash their cash in other ways too. Hence, the high proportion of modified vehicles on the streets of Hong Kong. It’s time for things to change.
Kevin is a travel writer. He has spent many holidays in and around the world. He loves to exploring the surrounding areas and enjoys discovering new places on his travels.
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