The sequel to The Fast and The Furious, 2Fast 2Furious, has just opened in the United States and safety officials fear it could spark copycat illegal street racing. Do you think they have reason to be concerned?
The sequel to The Fast and The Furious, 2Fast 2Furious, opened in the United States last weekend and safety officials fear it could spark copycat illegal street racing. Do you think they have reason to be concerned?
The movie stars Paul Walker, who returns as undercover policeman Brian O’Conner. After letting Dominic (Vin Diesel) get away at the end of the first movie, Brian O’Conner is stripped of his badge. To redeem himself, he is sent to Miami to infiltrate a gang of street racers to investigate suspicious import-export dealer Carter Verone.
The movie features a Mitsubishi Evo, Honda S2000 and Mitsubishi Spyder, while 400 real street racers were used as extras.
The reported that the first film in 2001 led to an increase street racing. Safety officials fear it will happen again. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration listed street racing as a factor in 135 fatal crashes in 2001, up from 72 fatal crashes in 2000.
“Young adults are easily influenced by what they see and we’re extremely concerned,” said Terrence Jungel, executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association. “We’ve experienced street drag racing when there was just a (car) show in town,” he said. “This movie is going to be in every town. I believe there’s going to be some kind of fallout. I hope I’m wrong.”
The Washington-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety said it referred to the 2Fast 2Furious as 2Fast 2Fatal. “It’s obvious the target audience for the movie is teenagers and young men,” said Cathy Chase, the group’s director. She said according to her statistics this was already a “dangerous group of drivers”.
The move opens in South Africa in August.
Do you think they have reason to be concerned?
