The incredible foolhardiness of young drivers goading each other into racing in their high-powered cars is again exposed with the tragic aftermath of one such incident reported on today.

One Bradford family has lost their son forever; the other has seen their child jailed for three-and-a-half years after suffering horrific injuries. That is the true cost of the crash that happened as a result of drivers’ bravado going terribly wrong.

Too often, young drivers push their cars and their own limited driving skills to the limit, often as soon as they have passed their test. And this showing off and posturing can become competitive and lead to the sort of incredibly dangerous high-speed races which led to the tragic outcome on Sunbridge Road.

The driver who survived found himself in court, where it was revealed he had notched up nine penalty points for jumping a red light and speeding at the time, despite having past his test only ten months before the accident in June 2010.

It is difficult to think of a more salutary lesson. One driver died, the other will have that on his conscience for the rest of his life when he is released from prison. The consequences could have been even worse; pedestrians or drivers not involved in the race could have also ended up as casualties.

Sadly, it is unlikely to make a huge amount of difference to the habits of young drivers. Which is why it is important that the court continues to impose the maximum possible penalties on incidents like this one and others where the drivers may have been more fortunate in terms of consequences, but have been equally reckless in terms of their driving.

And the police must be as good as the pledge made outside court by one officer yesterday, and simply not tolerate anyone driving in this manner on our roads.