Lincoln car enthusiasts say cruising and racing are not the same thing

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – After a tragic crash over the weekend following a yearly cruise night in Lincoln, Channel 8 spoke with car enthusiasts about what cruising actually means and how to move forward safely.

“To be safer in the future, I think people just need to realize what’s at stake. A life matters more than who’s going to beat you to the next stoplight,” said Dan Cummings, owner of Bombers Garage.

Many car enthusiasts want to clarify what cruising is and what it is not.

“Cruising is not meant to be, pull up at a stoplight and race each other to the next stoplight,” Cummings said. “It’s not meant to endanger people. It shouldn’t be that people have to feel scared to sit on the side of the road to see some of these works of art go by. It’s literally meant to be a rolling car show.”

After the deadly crash, the focus has been on O Street.  Lincoln Police say it’s one of the busiest streets in the Capital City on any given day.

“There are a lot of accidents on O Street just because it’s a highly traveled area,” said Sgt. Michael Muff of LPD’s traffic unit.

Police are working on ways to make roads safer including O Street.  Sgt. Muff explains a few things they are currently doing.

Muff said police use grant money for multiple traffic enforcement efforts, including yielding, seat belt use and sober driving.

“And also, we do a couple of grants to combat driving and the noise that comes from driving on O Street,” he said.

Those who spend time and money working on their cars hope that people will remain responsible and respectful as they cruise.

“Cruising up and down O Street is mainly supposed to be like, ‘Hey, nice car man.’ There is not supposed to be any bad side to this,” Cummings said.

He said there “are racetracks and other stuff” for people who want to do something riskier.

“I really hope that people don’t get a negative vibe from the recent happenings,” he said. “It’s not everybody.”