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I know that there are some places here in Tampa where you can "race" off the line at a traffic light. Relatively lightly traveled, newly paved, 3-lane, hard median divided roads with anywhere from a 1/2 to a whole mile before additional potential traffic. I would be lying if I said that, in conditions where there is no traffic, I never accelerated quickly at a green with a kid in a mustang next to me revving his engine. However, I am usually content with beating them off the line and then pull up at the speed limit (usually 50 or so on a road like that) and watch as they blow by me and into expensive ticket speed. However, while this behavior seems reasonably safe, there is still the chance of mechanical failure or unexpected vehicular or pedestrian traffic that could lead to an unpleasant or tragic incident. And on roads with a greater chance of potential traffic (i.e. 99.9% of the time), I wont even accelerate more quickly than usual from a light. After all, that's what a young kid on U.S. 1 in Miami did just before, at 60 mph, he t-boned a minivan that had the misfortune, and bad timing, to make a left in front of him when he wanted to peel out from a light. He was the last thing the person in the passenger seat ever saw. That person was my mother.
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