This is according to writer Tom Swift who, along with his wife Jo Mangan, met with car racers when researching their play Drive-By, which deals with the racing phenomenon.

"From our experience meeting with racers, we found that they are mostly young guys in a state of denial, " said Swift. "They are people who have a feeling of invincibility, of immortality, who get an adrenalin rush from the high speed and the danger. Most significantly, they know they can get away with it."

Advertising has had little effect on this group of people, he feels. "They see the ads and don't seem to recognise that this could be them. They feel that while they may drive extremely fast, they are also in control. In their opinion, they are excellent drivers."

Swift and Mangan went for a drive with some racers, an experience Swift said was "extremely scary." Mangan also drove a Nissan Skyline (a popular racing car) for a short while.

"Even though we were driving at normal speeds, you could still see young guys in their cars eyeing it up at the traffic lights, " said Swift.

"There was a definite feeling that if we threw down the gauntlet, there would have been a race. If you drive a fast, flashy car, you're more likely to be challenged. It's a highly competitive scene."

Despite the adrenalin rush and enjoyment many racers get out of speeding, Swift feels the single biggest factor behind the pastime is the certainty that they won't be caught.

"My view is that the government really needs to pull the stops out, " he said. "The gardai need to be out patrolling the back roads, not the motorways, because this is where it is happening. I think everyone recognises that.

These guys need to have the fear of being caught, because at the moment they don't.

Until then, they're going to carry on."