It has been two years since South African Hip-Hop artist ‘Jub Jub’ was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing four school children, during an illegal drag race in Soweto, Johannesburg.
The high-profile trial shed light on the prevalence of Illegal Street racing happening all over South Africa.The un-sanctioned racing scene, whether it’s worldwide or local, has become frustrated over the years, as it claims that their events are only classified illegal because they do not have proper licensing required to hold such events.
Many have said that their events are no more dangerous than races and exhibitions held at sanctioned motorways and during sanctioned street racing events.
However, investigations into the legitimacy of these events have uncovered conditions that make them explicitly dangerous for a number of reasons, including a lack of barriers or sufficient space between where the races take place and where the crowds are allowed to gather; a lack of or no systematic regulation of vehicle safety and in most cases, a complete lack of rules outside of the ‘first to cross the line wins’.
If one were to look at the other side of the spectrum, in Gauteng alone, there are a number of legal racetracks that are available for public entry, such as Tarlton Racetrack; Swartkops and other private courses, which drivers wanting to try their hand at racing can go with their car’s and race under the watchful eye of trained professionals.
The driver’s will also race without worrying about interference from the authorities. Many race tracks have even set up courses suited to the more ‘street’ oriented events, such as drifting, spinning and the like; so there is really no legitimate difference between the levels of events happening legally versus those in the unsanctioned circles.
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