| METRO NEWS | TODAY • September 26, 2000 |
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2 Lassiter kids a rarity in Camaro as 'hot' wheels have had to get smaller. TEEN DRIVING DILEMMA
Rick Badie - Staff
Tuesday, September 26, 2000
A teenager rolls up next to you in a Honda Accord with neon underlights, a platinum paint job, custom wheels and an earth-shaking stereo.
For today's youth, the Honda typifies the modern-day muscle car, minus the horsepower of nostalgic nameplates like Mustangs and GTOs. Hot rods, that American icon, aren't what they used to be.
"Young people do the cosmetic stuff --- the fancy chrome and wheels, but as far as the engine, they aren't making maximum changes," said John Razzouk, owner of Carburetor Specialist stores in Marietta and Mableton.
"Cars come from the factory souped up, able to run pretty fast," he continued. "Teens can change the appearance, but you'd have to be very knowledgeable to change the performance. And it's expensive."
Make no mistake: Today's teens revere speed like their peers of yesteryear. Back roads and popular cruising routes --- like Barrett Parkway in Cobb County --- serve as make-do drag strips, evidence being Saturday's fatal crash in Kennesaw.
Lassiter High School juniors Jerrod Norman and John Bickelhaup, both 16, were killed while street racing on Chastain Road. Jerrod was the driver and owner of the late-model Camaro that plowed into a church sign, killing the boys instantly.
The incident raises the typical questions associated with teen driving tragedies, among them: should the driving age be raised, and whether to put drivers' education back in schools. In particular, though, scrutiny has been leveled at young car lovers who crave speed and take risks.
Put them behind "a lot of cars and you can get into a deadly situation," said Gwinnett police Maj. Dan Bruno. "People generally have a lot of car for one reason --- to go fast, to accelerate fast."
Generally, though, the cars of the 1990s that are marketed to youth are peppy and cheap: Neons, Escorts, Cavaliers and Hondas. Yet another sign of change in the hot rod landscape, observers and aficionados said Monday.
Local speed shops experienced their heyday a decade ago and today are virtually non-existent. The price tag for installing performance parts --- superchargers and cold-air induction intake systems, for example --- is excessive. And garage-tinkering is out: Even mechanics must be as well-versed in high-tech computers as they are in fuel injectors and intake manifolds.
"Everything is so electronically controlled that if you took one sensor off the engine it would go into a 'limp-home mode,' " explained John Dianna, president and CEO of a California-based company that publishes five hot rod magazines.
"There are shops that kids could go to and the staff wouldn't even know how to do it. The sophistication of (legal drag) racing in general has eliminated 'normal' people from participating. That's why racing has become such a spectator sport."
Dianna gave an example of why "most souped-up cars are owned by gray beards who have the money to spend."
Speed requires a boost in horsepower, done by increasing the engine's intake of air and fuel. A high-performance fuel injection system to do that runs upward of $1,000. Throw in the necessary exhaust system, wheels and other accessories and you've spent $6,000 or more, Dianna said.
"There will always be people who push the envelope regardless of what governments or parents do," he said.
Staff writer Duane Stanford contributed to this article.
TEEN DRIVERS
The total number of 16- and 17-year-old drivers killed in
Georgia car crashes each year has steadily declined since 1996.
However, 16-
and 17-year-old drivers died at a higher rate from 1996 to 1998 than did drivers
24 and older.
..............1996................
1997..........1998
.......... Drivers.......... Drivers........
Drivers..
............killed..Rate*.... killed.. Rate*..killed..
Rate*
16-17........ 129....87.4.. 104.... 71.7....93......64.2
Over 24....
1,587....35.9.. 1,636.. 36.4.. 1,697....36.6
*Per 100,000 licensed
drivers
Also 16- and 17-year-old drivers died at a higher rate from
speed-related crashes than did drivers over 24. But that rate dropped
significanlty for 16- and 17-year-olds after the Teenage and Adult Driver
Responsibility Act went into effect on July 1, 1997. The law set up a graduated
licensing program for teens and set stricter penalties for getting caught
speeding.
.......... JAN. 1996-JUNE 1997.. JULY 1997-DEC.
1998..
................ Drivers............Drivers........
............killed..Rate*........ killed.. Rate*..
16-17........ 88....
59.7..........48...... 33.1
Over 24......294......6.6........
287........6.4
*Per 100,000 licensed drivers
Sources: Governor's Office of
Highway Safety; Georgia Department of Public Safeity; Staff research
/ CHUCK
BLEVINS /
Staff