> > ... I also
> > think that there should be some kind of special license for cars modded for
> > racing, and that that should be made obvious from the outside of the car too
> > (different colored license plates etc).
> > ...

> As an avid car person (gear-head, gas-brain, aficionado, etc), I ...

...

> If I'm driving my car as normal on the roads, but race them on
> closed-courses on weekends, why is it anyone else's business to know
> any of this, especially if I stay within the DOT and EPA standards?

The standard 'social contract' answer to that sort of question and
situation is that where there is an impingement of 'rights' which
cannot exist simultaneously unaffected, then some accommodation is
required.
As somebody famous but not enough to be memorable with certainty said
(misquote for sure but point made) "My right to swing my fist ends at
the top of your nose".

Denial of that leads to eg lots of men with bare  arms and killing
large amounts of people while their guns kill nobody.
ie Blind insistence on the right to do xxx because it's manifestly
harmless, while the harmed lie bleeding in the streets, possibly
literally in the case of cars, is all too common.

The OP's comment was probably based on the 'manifest imbalance' in
social contract which HE perceived from the modified car brigade, just
as you (apparently :-) ) think DOT & EPA compliance make modified cars
as safe as ordinary cars in the hands of ALL  comers.

Think about that - if DOT & EPA certification is NOT a complete answer
to concerns about the hazards from people who use modified cars, and
if there is NOT complete lack of deviation from the norm from the use
of  EPA & DOT certified vehicles, why would you even think of using it
as a 'defense' against the OP's arguments.

It MAY be that this is true - that OT & EPA certified modified
vehicles have absolutely no discernible difference in their safety
statistics compared to the balance of the sensibly comparable
vehicular population. What chance do you think there is that that is
true? If it's not true, what degree of difference do you think there
is?

I'd presume that the OP doesn't care how safe the VEHICLE is per se -
but what the effect of the vehicle is when used in 'everyday
situations', for whatever reason.

Do you think that that's fair?





      Russell
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