05-13-08: This week the latest in the daily supply of tragic stories involving death and speed came across my desk. In Lancaster, NY a suburb of Bufffalo, 24 year-old Mark Harhigh and his 21 year-old girl-friend Melanie Page died in a beautiful Azure Blue Mustang Mach 1. At some point during a reported race with a Dodge Neon the young driver who had just bought the car lost control and spun into a telephone pole at about 75-80 mph, slicing it clean in two. Melanie died instantly. Mark died shortly thereafter.

What exactly lead up to this horrible event and who was at fault is not the topic of the following text. Out of respect to all involved we will let the police and investigators pass judgement or place blame. As the photos clearly show, this was an accident of horrendous violence and tremendous tragedy. Behind this crash are two devastated families, a crushed circle of friends, and a saddened community.

The most unfortunate part of this story is that it isn’t at all unique. Here at TMN we see these stories every day on the newswires around the country. This one is more poignant because a Mustang is involved and that’s our specialty here. It strikes in a place that is familiar.

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We hate to see this happen to our brethren. It tugs at our hearts to see photos like this and to hear about tragedies like this. But it brings to light an issue we in the Mustang and automotive circles need to be reminded of. Our cars are fun, fast, and powerful but they can also be deadly. It’s the power and freedom we get from our cars that makes them special, but mishandled they are just as dangerous to ourselves and others as any weapon.

Mark and Melanie did not go out planning to die. Having been there myself, taking the love of my life out for a drive in my Mustang it's the last thing on our minds. Having street raced myself, I never expected it to end like this for me or for the other guy. Nobody does, but it happens every day. Mark had just bought his dream car and was likely inexperienced behind the wheel with 300hp on tap and being new to a stick shift. He was likely very proud and excited about having this new machine and wanted to have fun with it. We have all been there.

The thing is that we all think we are good drivers. There are many of us that are indeed very good drivers who can handle high speeds, can make a car do anything we want, and have years of experience behind us to back it up. So lets pretend for a moment that we are perfect and can never crash.

The problem with street-racing is that you do not know how experienced the other guy is. The danger you create by inciting a street duel might not be for you, it might be for the guy next to you that doesn’t know better, just bought his car, doesn’t have the experience, or is unaware of the danger that is up ahead. The danger you create might be for the innocent victim that the other guy hits. Unlike crashing in Grand Tourisimo 4, there is no reset button once a real world car accident is set into motion.

Street racing is a dance. It’s an action and reaction between two people. Like dancing or sex, it only happens when both parties willingly engage. Thus in law and in the arena of right and wrong you have equal responsibility for what can go wrong. In most states, if you are part of a street-race that involves the death or injury of another person you can be charged and litigated whether you crashed or not.

I doubt that anyone reading this who has ever drag-raced on the street would deny that they felt that tinge of danger and “what if” when things might have gotten hairy. You may have said, “Whew, got lucky there”. It’s the white knuckled rush that makes it fun. We all know that it can be lethal. But honestly survival and victory is the pay-off for many - another war story to tell the pals on the forums. It’s the oldest social phenomenon of our human condition.

So before you discount this preach as some old-guy waving his finger or some reporter being out of touch with where it’s at, I get it. I’m not old. I have been in that driver seat, doing the same thing and had a good time doing it. But you know what? It was wrong and I damn well knew it. Most people do. After seeing a few people I know get killed or lose their freedom due to the outcome of these exchanges of power and ego I have come to see that it's really not much different than drunk driving. And frankly the results are the same both to drivers and their innocent victims when the inevitable happens.

The bottom line is that it’s a choice. We have a choice to react or not react on the street. It has to go beyond thinking about you and the supposed challenge to your own ego. It has to go to the other guy or the lady with her kids crossing the intersection a couple blocks up the way who never saw it coming. It has to do with their families and friends, those who depend on them for their own livelihood and happiness.

There are places to take racing where it’s safer and there are no innocent victims if you wad it up. And damn it’s fun. In my life some of my best excitement outside of sex has been throwing a fast car about on a road course or oval with others hopelessly trying to catch me. And they rarely did except for that little brat Jeff Gordon - but that’s another story. For others it’s about the drag strip and busting out of the hole better than the other guy. Again, it’s the oldest social phenomenon of our human condition.

I never knew Mark Harhigh, but he obviously shared the same love for cars that most of us here do. He was surely a member of a circle of friends or possibly even a car forum where he shared with others his love for the cars. It saddens me to think that a young man lost it all because of what might have been a split second action and reaction between he and another driver. Out of respect for Mark, we will never know for sure what happened. Regardless it’s a tragedy that saddens us deeply.

So what is our point? Make it home tonight. Next time you are ready to show up the guy next to you don’t think about your own safety because you know what you are doing and you can never crash. Think about the guy next to you or that lady down the street with her kids in the car. Think about the people in their life because they may not be so lucky as you..