Fast and furious: Hong Kong crash tragedy puts spotlight on city’s speed fiends, illegal racing scene
- No secret that accident black spot Bride’s Pool Road is a venue for illegal races, insiders say
- Some come in ‘souped up’ Japanese cars, others in posh sports cars equipped with radar to spot police
Hong Kong’s speed fiends use scouts to check for the presence of police during illegal overnight car races, the Post has learned, after two motorists died and five others were injured in a horrific crash along Bride’s Pool Road in Tai Po last Sunday night.
Many sports car owners also install costly radar equipment to detect police during their drives, said an insider and long-time Lamborghini owner who spoke on condition of anonymity.
It is no secret among the city’s motoring enthusiasts that illegal races take place, and those who get their thrills from driving fast tend to congregate at their favourite spots late at night or in the early hours of the morning, when the roads are quiet.
Narrow, winding Bride’s Pool Road, nestled in Tai Po’s scenic Plover Cove Country Park, is popular with motorists, motorcycle riders and cyclists, and it is known to be a venue for illegal races.
The 7.4km stretch is also a notorious black spot for accidents, with at least six claiming seven lives over the past two years, including last Sunday’s tragedy.
In a crash that occurred just before 10.15pm on October 31, a HK$5 million (US$642,000) special edition Lamborghini was reduced to a mangled heap, and its driver, a 41-year-old businessman, died on the spot after it was involved in a collision with a Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.