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As long as there have been cars people have been compelled to see how fast theirs can go and hoping it's faster than the next person's.

Still, street racing is a dangerous, illegal activity, and on Thursday York Regional Police joined with organizations from across Ontario, and two provincial ministries in the hopes of putting on the brakes.

Project E.R.A.S.E. (Eliminate Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere) was launched at the Buttonville Airport Thursday, with a goal of, well, erasing racing activities on streets everywhere, primarily for the good of non-racers, who they insist also face great danger when others race.

Police say street racing rings have advanced so far that they're now trying to gather counterintelligence on officials, break into their computers, and find out when shift changes are scheduled and where and when they should race.

"Some of them have scanners, we've found them in the back parking lots with hi-tech computer equipment trying to break into our encryption codes for our laptop computers," said York Police Sgt. Dave Mitchell.

But with souped-up vehicles that roadways aren't engineered to accommodate safely, these high-tech, often savvy individuals still pose great danger to themselves and others through their actions, and those actions appear to be growing more and more common and difficult to stop. What it all adds up to is a ramped-up effort on the part of the province.

Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield was also on hand at Thursday's unveiling, and she insists that stronger street racing legislation is right around the corner. Under the regulations, the maximum fine would go from $1,000 to $10,000.

Since 1999, 38 people have died in street racing incidents across the Greater Toronto Area, and countless others have had their lives changed due to the loss of a relative or loved one in a street race.

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