Highway 400 Crash involving street racers

Two Charged in Trucker's Death held in jail
Trucker hailed as hero

The story of the heroic life-sacrificing manoeuvring of David Virgoe, a truck driver involved in the Highway 400 crash Tuesday is tragic in more ways than one. First, it was a selfless sacrifice to save the lives of others. Second, and perhaps more alarming, is that the crash was initiated by two drivers who chose to race down a crowded highway for reasons only known to them. Another life lost at the hands of careless driving. Street racing is becoming an increasing problem in our communities and has moved up the list of priorities for our police forces and political leaders. What we cannot do however, is place the blame solely on youthful inexperience. My experience as a university student and the current summer coordinator for NSAIDD Day (National Students against Impaired and Distracted Driving) is that most youth (even those younger than the legal age to drive), know the dangers of careless and impaired driving. Their efforts in participating in each of the annual NSAIDD Days since 1999 confirm that the majority of youth care about the safety of others on the road. Penalizing street racers for their stupidity is one thing, but we need to remember that while there are young people out there that need to be educated on peer-pressure triggered actions (like street racing), the majority of youth are proud to be safe and responsible drivers. Let’s not paint everyone with the same brush.

Jamie Chan
Summer Coordinator,
Student Life NOW!
A division of The Student Life Education Company