When you think of street racing images like this probably aren't the first ones that come to mind. You probably think of movies like "The Fast and the Furious" ... But like it or not... this is closer to the truth.

Research shows that speed is a factor in 40 percent of all road deaths.

One man who knows this all too well is Ian Van Rooyen. He was speeding and drunk when he hit a car carrying a young couple, killing one of them and badly injuring the other.

IAN VAN ROOYEN, DRIVER: It was a massive shock for me. I didn't know what had happened. And then I had a look around. And I saw the other car was up in the nature strip. I ran over to them and as I got closer, I could see that the car was actually wrapped around a pole.

Ian now talks to schools telling them about the terrible consequences of dangerous driving.

IAN VAN ROOYEN, DRIVER: What does it feel like to kill a man? Well, I can tell you, it dominates your thoughts. It can reduce a grown man to tears at any time. Regret is a terrible thing.

So it's clear that speeding is a huge problem and one area that unfortunately involves lots of young guys is illegal street racing.

People are worried about it because they say it is causing a lot of accidents. This crash in Sydney has really put the issue in the headlines.

ABC NEWS REPORT: Police allege the drivers of two commodores had been street racing when they ploughed into the couple's station wagon early Sunday morning. Both in their 70s Kudy and Alan Howe had seven children and 15 grandchildren they'd been married for fifty years.

Now nothing has been proven against these guys and they haven't had a chance to defend themselves in court but the case has already got people arguing for tougher laws against what they call hoon driving.

In some states police are trying something new to crack down on hoons; confiscating their cars.

They can have their cars taken for excessive speeding or for doing burnouts or doughnuts.

In Victoria alone, over 2000 cars have been impounded. They can be taken for 48 hours, three months or forever.

In Victoria the most common type of impounded car under anti-hoon laws is Holden. Nearly half of all cars seized have the lion badge.

Ford came a distant second with just over 16 percent. But some people say this isn't going far enough.

Police in the American state of California have started crushing the cars of street racers. The cars are crushed in front of them; to teach them a lesson.

Some people say we should be doing a similar thing here...

But for some people racing is a passion they can't do without. And there is a way of enjoying it without breaking the law.

Legal drag racing is a popular sport and it's done on a safe track so no one else can get hurt.

Police say they would like to see all illegal racers hit the track bore they see them here... or worse still... here...