IT'S NOT DRAG RACING, STUPID!

The Clark Kent of Perth Motorplex - Terry Jongen

The problem of illegal street racing (“hoon driving”) on Perth roads has encouraged one of the key people behind the legal sport of drag racing to speak out against the hoon activity. Among the main ambassadors for drag racing is Royal Perth Hospital trauma nurse practitioner Terry Jongen who is also the WA division director for the Australian National Drag Racing Association – and a competitor at Perth Motorplex. Jongen has had enough of dealing with both the trauma from illegal street racing and the activity being branded incorrectly as drag racing. “Illegal street racing is just that; a stupid and dangerous thing in an uncontrolled environment,” he said. “There will often be passengers and other innocent people around you who don't want to be part of it, whereas when you are drag racing you are at a purpose-built, controlled location with racers who consent to race and do so in a safe environment.” Jongen is an ardent fighter against illegal street racing and as a legal drag racer himself said he was keen to see people make the switch from irresponsible hooning to fully legal and safe drag racing. “People need to get off the streets and do it at the track,” he said. “It costs you next to nothing at the track and you can do as many skids as you like in complete safety and with complete immunity from the law. You can go as fast as you like and race who you like. I don't understand why anyone would do it at a set of street lights and put themselves, and others, in jeopardy.” While he didn't understand what motivated illegal street racers, Jongen cited the studies of Dr Glen Fuller who completed his PhD on the 'hoon problem'. “It's all about testosterone, hype and stupidity,” Jongen said. “The so-called hoons represent less than one percent of one percent of road users but police and politicians are targeting them. “Fuller analysed what drove them to do it and it comes back to the caveman theory. It's about ego, pack mentality and dominance. “Males in their late teens and early twenties have thought processes that are heavily influenced by the hormone processes they are going through. You see it at any mass gathering where they fight and brawl.”

When Jongen is not ripping down the Perth Motorplex quarter mile, or controlling Drag Racing on the National scene - he is repairing the damage done by illegal street racing at RPH.

Jongen wanted to see people use proper facilities as an outlet for their need for speed. His career in the Royal Perth Hospital emergency department has taught him that racing does not belong on the streets. “I've spent 18 years in the emergency department and seen deaths, people having limbs torn off, brain injuries and so on,” he said. “I had to tell one lady that two of her three sons were killed in an accident and we were trying to save the other one. “People just don't understand the consequences when we have to pick up the pieces after a crash. “I looked after a motorcyclist who’d been caught up in a street race; one car clipped him and he died. He was riding home from a volunteer fire fighting lesson, a good guy, it's just bullshit.” Jongen also spends time as a medical advisor to Perth Motorplex where he helped implement safety procedures and said the environment is safer than driving on normal roads. “The Motorplex has a tiered response,” he explained. “There is a first response vehicle and, depending on what they find, we can call for more resources. We have trialled the rescue helicopter at the track. All the medics are trained in extrication from race vehicles, which is a specialised art. “We have a 'scoop and run' policy. We do the basics on the scene but the definitive response to trauma is generally surgery.” Jongen said the impact of his work made him even more aware of just how safe proper racing facilities were. “Seeing trauma first hand and knowing what happens to people’s bodies, I know it is infinitely safer on the track,” he said. “The way the track is built makes it safe. The design of the Motorplex with increasing crash barrier heights as you go down the track is one of the best safety innovations I have seen.” Jongen believed education is another key to stopping illegal street racing and general road carnage. “It's all about education. The Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth (PARTY) program at RPH takes kids through simulated resuscitations, real victims and presentations about road trauma. The response so far has been good and based on the results from Canada, where the program originated; it should be successful in reducing road trauma.”